Since I Can't Say Goodbye
by Tribal Ghost Story
Summary: Humphrey and Kate go through a struggle of love and friendship. They find new pals along the way in a tale that goes beyond them. /Indefinite hiatus. /Incomplete.
1. Chapter 1 Sadness Upon A Star

**This is the continuing of Miss You When I'm Without You, takes place right after.**

* * *

We last saw the now lone wolf, Humphrey, who boarded a train heading south from Jasper Park, Canada. He left Jasper because he found out that the one he almost confessed his love to, had to marry the son of a rival pack's leader. He truly thought he and Kate were meant to be together, but he was mistaken, he left in sadness, missing her wedding, for he felt he no longer belonged.

Ridding on the train wasn't perfect, the noise, clattering, it could rattle your bones to dust, but it was better than walking only ten miles a day when you could conquer that in under ten minutes with a train. Humphrey had been on the train, but he lost count of the days, or hours, he couldn't tell with the noon day sun beating down on his scruffy grey fur.

Sadness befell Humphrey ever since he left Jasper, his thoughts only on a beautiful golden wolf that he bonded to, Kate. He never got to tell her his feelings, his thoughts, he missed her already.

He lay down in the train car, watching the landscape, trees, passing by as the train cut through the forests. Humphrey started to feel more like a lone wolf, being alone, no one to talk to, it kind of didn't agree with his nature of a fun loving omega. If there wasn't a friend, then what was the point of making a joke or acting stupid? Life would be different from now on, he'd have to learn to hunt for his food now, a major step in being a lone wolf, but he didn't know the first thing in hunting prey.

Another thought ran through his head.

"_When will I get off of this train?"_ The thought echoed through his head.

"_What if I want to go back? If I'm too far away, can I find my way to Jasper again?"_ More thoughts echoed through his mind.

His self conscious was having a war with his morals, and his morals with his pride, and his pride with his ego, and two other major contenders, love and hate.

"_No, you're never going back." _

"_But what if you want to see her again?"_

"_Maybe she loves you." _

"_What if she used you?"_

"_She can just go to hell then."_

"_Come on Humphrey, you had a chance to tell her, and you blew it."_

"_You're on your own."_

"_She howled at the moon with you. That was just the moment."_

"_So howling with her doesn't mean anything?" _

"_You have no idea how stupid you are to let her go."_

"_You love her!"_

His thoughts argued against him, asked questions, reminded him of his feelings, but in the end, they were just thoughts, unexpressed emotions. It pained him to leave, but it was, as he thought, the best thing to do. It felt stupid and unfair, why did Kate have to marry Garth?

"_Who's the coyote?" Garth said as Humphrey busted in on Garth's and Kate's date together._

"_No one important. Lilly, why don't you take little coyote, Humphrey, and run along." Kate snapped._

The few days he spent with Kate in Idaho were some of the best days in his life, if you could believe that. As a matter of fact, any day with Kate was a best day in his world. What he didn't get was what if Kate had feelings for him? She would have said something. But what if she was as shy to express love for him as he was to her? If that was the case then why did she marry Garth?

To unite the packs, blah blah… it shouldn't have been her burden to uphold, it was a responsibility forced onto her. She didn't deserve that.

Humphrey sighed as he closed his blue colored eyes, and listened to the sounds of the train going over the tracks, a hypnotic sound that soon put him to sleep.

_Humphrey's Dreams..._

"_Kate." Humphrey said, nudging Kate's face with his nose. "Kate, wake up. Wake up"_

_Her eyes slowly fluttered open to the sight of Humphrey. _

"_Humphrey?" Kate asked, stretching the stiffness out of her muscles. "Where are we?"_

_Humphrey looked at her. "We're… We're in Jasper." He gave a smile that hid his own disappointment. Disappointed in that he knew their time together would come to an end. _

_Kate made her way to the train car's side cargo door, sat down, and looked out, seeing the familiar sight of her home, Jasper Park. Humphrey did the same but he didn't look out at home, his eyes were on Kate, he had to say something._

"_We're home." Kate said. _

"_Yup. We're home." Humphrey said, rolling his eyes. Building up the courage to try and say what he wanted to say, unknown to him, Kate was doing the same thing._

_The two wolves avoided each others gaze until…_

"_There's something…"_  
"_There's something…" _

_They both said as they looked at each other, their lips only a short distance apart._

"_Please, you first." Humphrey told her._

"_Humphrey, I just wanted to tell you, these past couple days, they've been, kind of… fun." She looked down at the floor of the car and then back at Humphrey._

_Humphrey's face glowed as he gave a small smile. _

"_And you've been kind of… fun." Kate finally said. _

"_Really?" Humphrey asked her. _

"_Really." Kate said as she perked her ears up and smiled._

"_Well, that's… That's great. I told you, we make a pretty good team." Humphrey chuckled. _

"_We do." Kate chuckled too._

_Now it was Humphrey's turn._

"_Okay. Um, well." Humphrey fidgeted his paws nervously. _

_Kate saw this. "No, no, no. Don't tell me. You have to go to the bathroom again." Kate smirked._

"_Why, do you see a truck stop?" Humphrey chuckled._

_Kate smiled at him, her amber eyes gleaming in the moon light; Humphrey stumbled over his words when he looked at her. Her beautiful features made his heart melt inside._

"_I just wanted to tell you I… I…" He tried to find the courage to finish. Kate kept looking at him, wondering what he could be trying to say._

"_-I… I just wanted to tell you… I… I love you." Humphrey finished._

_Kate stared at him for a few minutes. She knew he had some feelings towards her, but she began to feel something for him too, she cared about him even more after being alone with him, trying to find their way back home. She learned to depend and trust him with her life. He made her happy and she knew that, even before they howled together just a short time ago, they sounded perfect, his beautiful voice. She knew exactly what to say to him._

_She then rubbed her nose against his. "I love you too Humphrey." _

_Humphrey could have just died right then and there, and without a care. He couldn't be happier. He nuzzled her back. _

"_So what do we do now?" Humphrey chuckled nervously._

"_I think I know." Kate said in a soft tone as she closed her eyes and leaned in to place her lips upon Humphrey's. _

_But before she could do so, Humphrey fell limp to the base of the train car, darkness befalling his sight and mind. _

_Reality..._

Humphrey opened his eyes, the sight of woodlands going by as he began to wake, but then his body shot up in an adrenaline rush.

"Kate! Kate were did you go!" Humphrey was scared for the one he loved. But he soon realized that it was all just a dream.

"If felt so…real…" Humphrey's eyes began to tear up; a few tears ran down his face.

He let himself fall to the floor, in a curled up mess of repressed sadness that he could no longer contain, sobbing like he had just lost a mother, or a father.

"_Humphrey, come on, stop crying now. Get up, come on, get up."_ Humphrey heard a voice say. He got up and looked around, forgetting his sadness as he stopped crying.

"Who's there?" He asked nervously out of fear.

"_The voice that's telling you to keep going. I think it's time for you to get off of this train and start moving on."_ The voice said, obviously a male's voice.

He looked around some more, the voice he heard hadn't originated anywhere around him, it was in his head. He heeded the voice's suggestion and jumped out of the train car, looking around at the woodlands he was in, the train sped away.

Humphrey sighed. "What now?" He asked the voice. It didn't answer back.

"Hello? Are you in there?" Humphrey knocked on his own head with his paw.

"I must be going crazy. Wait, where am I?" He looked around and began to feel the sense of loneliness.

Glowing red orbs, eyes, shown in the dense forest, Humphrey saw them and took a few steps back, further and further until he turned around and started running in the opposite direction.

When Humphrey felt it was safe, he stopped and sat down by a tree to rest.

"I've gotta find a place to sleep, water, and food. Okay, now where to find a place to sleep…" Humphrey stood up and wandered around through out the forest the train had left him in, the day only had a few hours left, so finding a safe place as soon as possible was most important.

_After a few hours of searching…_

"This is as good a place as any." Humphrey sighed as he curled up under a three that had fallen and leaned against another, a good temporary home.

The sun left as night cut through the available light, small bits of glowing dots began to show in the sky, the stars replenishing the suns light rays with soft beams of their own light, as did the moon.

He slumped to the ground; his eye lids sleepily drooped over his blue eyes as he began to fall into a deep slumber. His body loosened and his mind felt at ease, his worries care free.

As soon as his eyes closed fully, a certain wolf found herself in his mind again, taunting him. He opened his eyes, which were glazed over with what would soon be tears.

"Why does love have to suck so much? Is it too much to ask for…the most perfect wolf I've ever… known…" Humphrey trailed off, he could see the stars from where he was laying, sparkling and glittering.

Humphrey sighed as he looked at them, it seemed like each one was different. But a large group of stars caught his eye, they made a shape, the shape he made out was an image of… Kate.

Humphrey almost let his emotions get the better of him, but instead, he kept them inside, laid his head down, and closed his eyes into a better place, his dreams.


	2. Chapter 2 Because Of Me

It was now midnight in the valley of Jasper Park. A golden furred female wolf was sitting atop the highest point of Howling Rock, staring at the waning gibbous moon, her amber eyes showed a look of hurt. She wasn't there to howl with a significant other, she was howling out of sadness, alone… for the one she loved left her, and it was all her fault.

Kate knew she had hurt Humphrey, the way he left, his face, she saw it in his eyes, the pain, and the heartbreak.

She began to howl, but something she could not stop forced her to add words, words that came from her heart… out of its broken sadness and sorrow.

_I never knew what it would feel like  
The moment I lost you  
I lost the chance to tell you  
How I've felt _

_Since we first met  
You tried to tell me  
But I didn't listen to you_

_Now your love I'll never know_

_Because of me_

A tear fell to the rocky ground of Howling rock, Kate kept singing, the moon her only audience to her beautifully heartfelt melody.

_Love can be so cruel  
But so beautiful  
Oh how I miss you  
You the one I love  
I can't live without you_

_But now  
You can't live without me_

_Because of me_

Her voice true and just, never faltering, as if angelic. The sad tune she sang mirrored her feelings.

_When you fall  
When you fail  
When you're down_

_I want to be there  
For you  
And only you  
But now you're gone_

_Because of me_

Kate felt the repercussions of her actions, she could have told Humphrey how she felt before he left, and it would have been the perfect time

Kate laid down on the cold rocky surface, the moon shinning on her glimmering golden fur and mane.

"Oh Humphrey, I drove you away, I'm so stupid!" She hit the ground with her paw, and clawed at it out of her frustration.

"That was beautiful Kate." She heard a familiar voice sound out behind her.

She looked behind her to see Paddy; the yellow duck was making his way up to her, along with Marcel, Eve, and Salty.

"Kate dear, I hate seeing you like this." Her mother, Eve, who also brandished golden fur and amber eyes, said to her.

"Your mother is right, something must be done." Marcel added, the goose had a French accent and a high opinion of himself.

"Humphrey is probably as sad as you are." Salty, the skinny and scruffy gray omega said. His voice carried a bewildered and dizzy tone.

"I'm the cause of it. He left because of me." She told them all as she turned her head to look at the full moon.

"You have a choice; you can sit here and let things get worse. Or, you can go and find-" Paddy began to tell Kate

"Paddy please, don't be rude." Marcel interrupted.

"As much as I hate to say it, Paddy's right. You're not alone though, we can help you find him." Eve said to her daughter.

"Thanks mom, but that would cause more problems. I think I can go find him on my own." Kate stared at the moon, thinking about Humphrey.

"Listen Kate, I know this won't be easy for you to hear but… Humphrey has had feelings for you ever since you two became friends. When you went to alpha school, he realized he had feelings for you, he told me so. He knew that alphas and omegas couldn't be together, in that way, but that didn't stop him." Salty told her.

Kate heard that and wanted to cry, she could have been a little nicer to Humphrey, but duties and responsibilities kept her from thinking of how he felt.

"I know Humphrey, he might come back and everythin-"Salty began.

"He thinks I'm married to Garth!" Kate yelled.

"Oh." Salty backed off.

"I'm sorry. I just can't stand hearing how much I messed up." Kate got up and sat in front of the group.

"We can help you find him; like we helped you find your way back to Jasper." Paddy told her.

"He did say he was leaving on the train to go back to Idaho." Kate said to Paddy and Marcel.

"You know that isn't a bad idea, if he stayed on the train, then we can search for him between here and Idaho." Marcel added.

Kate held a small amount of hope in her heart.

"Are you sure?" Kate asked the two birds.

"We know that place like the back of our wings." Paddy said.

"True, if we can assume he went back to the Sawtooth wilderness." Marcel added.

"Is there a train near here that I can board?" Kate asked the two birds.

"We saw one earlier heading north, it may come back south in a few minutes." Paddy told Kate.

"Let's go then. Mom, tell dad I'm going to find Humphrey." Kate told her mother as she walked with Paddy and Marcel to the rail way tracks.

"Sure dear, and be careful." Eve said to Kate.

"Yes mother." Kate called back.

Kate had a glimmer of hope, maybe; just maybe, she could find the one she loved and make right of her mistake and wrong doing to Humphrey. I wasn't just the fact that she hurt him, but it was that she came to love him very much that if she saw him again, she express it in front of anyone and everyone.

_A walk towards some train tracks later… _

"Alright Kate, the train is almost here. You stay hidden until Marcel and I give you the signal, then you jump on the train, make your way to the first open box car you see, got it?" Paddy asked Kate, who was making her self scarce in a small bush as she heard the train nearby.

"Got it, alright, I'm ready." Kate said as she crouched down, keeping a visual on her friends.

The train came as quick, clacking and clanging it's metal wheels against the rusty old tracks.

"Okay… wait for it… Now!" Paddy yelled, flapping a wing to Kate as he and Marcel flew off to follow the train.

Kate jumped out of her hiding spot and chased down a suitable box car to jump to; a yellow car with one of its cargo doors open and the other closed, the car was one of the last in the long line of metal boxes being pulled by the engine.

"Come on Kate, Jump!" Marcel yelled to Kate as he flew overhead of the car along with Paddy, his duck caddy.

Kate, her face shown shear determination and concentration, jumped to the car, easily sticking the landing after making a front flip to defuse the extra kinetic force.

Marcel and Paddy both gave a sigh of relief, and flew down to the open door of the box car.

"Make way, we're coming in." Paddy warned as he and Marcel flew inside of the yellow train car.

"Phew, we made it." Kate let her body settle down; the adrenaline in her body began to disperse within her blood stream.

"Good show, Miss Fast." Marcel said with a bit of accented sarcasm in his voice.

"Yes, indeed. Now, we should stay aboard for a day or two, then hop off and start searching." Paddy said.

Kate gave a wishing smile. "I hope we find him tomorrow."

"I'm going to get some sleep, if you don't mind." Marcel said, cracking his many joints before finally laying down, lightly snoring.

"Kate, it would help if you got some sleep too." Paddy told her, but Kate ignored him.

Kate stared out of the car's side door, watching the stars, she found a reason to keep going, a hope to find Humphrey, a new found courage to face the world, love.


	3. Chapter 3 A Stroke Of Luck and Surprises

The sun's bright rays flooded a canopy of trees, peering in on a wolf, sleeping under a fallen tree. The lights hit his eyes, making him flinch and move until he woke.

Humphrey slowly opened his eyes and yawned, stretching and shaking his body awake. He then proceeded to walk around and explore the world around him.

Humphrey started thinking about water, and food, the thought of them made his mouth dry and his stomach angry.

"Oh man, I wish I was an alpha." Humphrey pictured the daunting task ahead of him. If he was to survive, he'd need meat, and to get that, you need to be a good hunter. Humphrey never tried to hunt, and he didn't know the first thing about it, other than sinking your teeth in a caribou or deer's neck. Maybe berries? Squirrels? Grass? Not enough to satisfy his needs.

He walked through the forest, looking for signs of food or water; he started to feel a bit helpless, other wolves usually hunted for his food, now he's got to do everything by himself. He felt pathetic, a wolf who didn't know anything about hunting, what a loser.

"I could have stayed on the train and jumped off at a human city, they have food." Humphrey said to himself, after shrugging off the thought, it would only cause trouble for him and the humans, he'd only be put right back where he started.

As he walked further, a faint aroma hit his nose, a pleasing aroma that made his mouth water. He sniffed the air and followed his nose to the scent's location.

It smelled like the flesh and tissue of an animal, but it also smelled like it was burning. Humans must have been nearby. Humphrey didn't care about being seen though, he was hungry.

"That smell…. It's smells… so good." Humphrey kept following his nose until he stopped and looked around him; he was right in the middle of a human encampment, with the scent of cooking meat right on top of a ring of rocks with fire in the center of it.

Humphrey took the risk and made his way to the food he so pleadingly desired after not eating for a long while. Practically tip-toeing through the camp, being sure not to wake any of the sleeping humans in their weird brightly colored cocoons, each being a different color such as blue, red, and orange.

The food was right in front of him, a large chunk of it, a stake had been trusted though it to hold it up on it's wooden stilts to keep the flames far enough away as to just barely lick it, burning a thin black crust on the meat's surface.

He carefully clamped down on the chunk of meat, pulling it away from the fire and turning around to leave; he made it far just past the last sleeping humans until he heard the sound of leaves crumbling, and twigs snapping, footsteps.

Humphrey's heart raced, he couldn't move, the steps got closer, closer, until they stopped, right behind him.

"It's a wolf! Get a rifle!" He heard a voice sound out behind him, waking all four of the other humans.

Humphrey's eyes grew wide, his muscles tensed, the adrenaline in his body pressured him with every second to run as fast as he could, but the fear in his mind kept him from making an escape. He was done for.

"Oh crap! What the heck?" A human yelled, rising from its sleeping bag.

"Call the rangers! The phone's in the truck." One of them said. Humphrey could see one human running its way to a big contraption.

"We need to back away, if you get bit there's a chance of getting rabies." One of the humans told the other three, who all backed away slowly. The whispering human was defiantly uninformed about wolves.

"You guys got your shots?" A human laughed.

"That isn't funny son."

"Hey, my rifle is over there, give it to me so I can shoot it." A human whispered to another.

Humphrey started backing away too, walking backwards with the piece of meat in his mouth until he saw one of the humans make a quick movement; he whipped around and ran as fast as he could.

"Shoot it!"

He heard a loud sound, like the sound of lightning, a loud crack, and a zipping and whizzing sound going right past him as he made it to the tree line.

_A while of running later…_

Humphrey stopped, breathing heavily from his encounter. He dropped the roasted chunk of meat and regained his composure as he rested his body.

He picked up his steal and went in search of a place to eat it in peace.

After finding a place safe enough, he laid down and began to eat. The meat wasn't bad, at first it tasted funny, burnt and crunchy, and then after a few bites, it started to taste better and better until he hungrily attacked it.

"Oh my gosh, this is so good!" Humphrey was satisfied with his catch, even though he didn't kill it, he evaded humans and capture for it, which must have accounted for something.

When he was finished, only a few bones were left, he licked his muzzle clean of the liquids and grease from the meat and then had a dry feeling on his tongue, he was thirsty.

"Time to find some water." Humphrey got up and started to make his way around, listening for a running stream or waterfall, river, or even a puddle if he walked up on one.

He didn't want to take his chances with the humans again, so he kept walking around in the dense forest for some water, being mindful of where the humans were.

He perked his ears in a directing as he heard the trickling and bubbling of liquid, water!

"Maybe my luck isn't all that bad." Humphrey said as he followed the sound, it grew louder as he came closer.

Breaching trough a bush, he saw the water, being carried through a small shallow stream.

Humphrey jumped in and began gulping down as much as he could.

He laughed as he jumped around and bathed in it, washing off the dirt locked in his fur.

"If Kate were here, this would…" Reality came back to slap him in the face.

His ears drooped and his face grew saddened; he made his way out of the stream and shook himself dry, his fur surprisingly cleaner and softer than before.

He started to walk; he didn't really care in what direction, someplace that would take his mind off of things, but he felt like he didn't really have a purpose in life anymore. Kate was the greatest thing that ever happened to him, and she went off to marry Garth.

He knew he could never love anyone else, Kate was it, and he blew it when he didn't tell her how he felt about her when he had the chance. When he chose to be a lone wolf, he didn't expect how lonely and sad it would be.

"_Maybe I can start a new life in another pack, one who will accept me… that won't happen though…" _He thought.

After a while of moping around, he just plopped to the ground and laid there.

"This was a stupid idea, how can I forget about her by running away when all I do now is think about her!" Humphrey yelled at himself.

Humphrey rolled over on his back, with his four paws in the air, looking at the sky and the puffy clouds.

"That one looks like a rabbit." Humphrey said, making out shapes in the clouds, perhaps attempting to take his mind off of Kate.

"Oh, that one looks like a bird." He continued.

"And that one looks like… OW!" Humphrey yelled as he felt a slight poke in his shoulder, he stood up to see a brightly red colored tube with feathers on it, jutting out of his right front leg.

"What the-… ow that hurts… ha ha, duck… duck… moooooose. Heh heh he." Humphrey's words began to sound meshed together and undistinguishable as he stumbled around, chuckling and laughing like he was mad.

Humphrey fell to the ground unconscious.

"Got him." A human hiding nearby said to his partner. The two humans were dressed in think tan shirts with badges on them and green pants, Park Rangers.

"All right, let's get him loaded on the truck. We'll hold him at a rehabilitation center until we figure out where to put him. This wolf has done enough of terrorizing campers for one day." The ranger, who shot Humphrey, said.

One ranger went over to Humphrey, while the other went to drive their vehicle into place to load Humphrey in one of the crates held in its bed.

This was just not his day. Humphrey would have a big surprise when he woke up.


	4. Chapter 4 The Unexpected Surprise

Sun light gently caressed a golden wolf's fur, her eye lids temped to let the light in, until finally, they fluttered open revealing a pair of gorgeous amber colored eyes.

"Ah good, your awake." Marcel said to Kate. Kate looked over to him.

"How long have we been traveling?"

"Well, so far it's been a day and a half." Marcel told her.

"We can keep traveling for another hour and make our way off." Paddy said to her.

"_No, jump now." _

"Did you say something?" Kate asked Marcel and Paddy.

"Um, no?" Paddy said. Marcel shrugged at her.

"_Kate, if you want to find Humphrey, jump off the train, now!"_ The voice she heard blasted her senses as she reacted on instinct, moving her body in a graceful fluid motion, jumping off the train.

"Kate! What are you doing?" Paddy and Marcel yelled to her as they flew out of the train car after her.

Once they landed beside her, they looked at her with confused and angry faces, eye brows and all.

"I don't know, but something told me to do it." Kate told them, panting lightly. The voice she heard was a male's.

"_Get a move on if you wish to find Humphrey."_ The voice came again, scaring her.

"Who's there!" She demanded.

"Kate, it's just us, calm down." The yellow duck comforted.

"No, it's someone talking to me, he's somewhere around here, I can hear him." Kate said to them.

"Kate, we didn't hear any voices." Marcel looked at her suspiciously.

"_They can't hear me, only you can, now start walking, please." _The voice commanded to her. She looked around her and found nothing other than her two friends.

"It must be in my head, he told us to go this direction, Humphrey must be this way." Kate said to the two as she started off.

Marcel looked at Paddy, who shrugged. Then the two followed Kate.

**xxxXXXxxx**

Humphrey, the lone wolf, woke from his chemically induced slumber.

"Ow, my head." He groaned, trying to sit up, his vision dazed and out of focus.

**#**"Finally, awake are we?" He heard a voice. Humphrey looked around him and placed his eyes on a black and white wolf. The wolf was half black and half white. The pure white on his lower body, his chest, lower rib cage, lower tail, the inside of his ears, throat, muzzle, eyes sockets, with the bridge of his nose being a fade from white to black. His upper body was a pitch place color. His back, top of his head, eye brows, and the top of his tail were black. His eyes were a lightly colored blue. His mane, or head of hair, was a mix of black and white, of medium length and finely groomed.

"Who are you?" Humphrey asked.

"I should ask you the same question." The wolf said back.

"Okay, I'm Humphrey."

"My name is Ios."

"Good to meet you." Humphrey said with a slight smile, he looked around him and suddenly lost that smile, he was in a caged pen, locked up. He looked around to get his bearings and gain a sense of his surroundings. The sun was high above him, a small building on one side, a small tower on another side, and many cages holding different animals. Humphrey didn't worry much about it since he didn't care about what happened in his life anymore.

"Where are we?" Humphrey asked Ios.

"I don't really know actually, they brought me here a few days ago." Ios said.

"Who's they?" Humphrey asked Ios.

"The humans, they must have hit you with a dart when you weren't looking." Ios told Humphrey.

"What are they going to do with us?" Humphrey had many questions.

"Relocation I think, to another park."

"Oh, I've been down that road before." Humphrey told Ios.

"You have? You've been captured?" Ios asked, interested.

"Yep." Humphrey said.

"Where'd they catch you before?" Ios asked.

Humphrey thought about it for a second. "It's a long story..."

"Oh, well… I've got time. Not going anywhere, like I have a choice." Ios said.

Humphrey gave a sigh and thought about where to start.

_A few hours and a life story later…_

"And then there's this wolf, Kate, and I'm in love with her, err… was in love with her. I always had a crush on her, but packs don't allow their alphas and omegas to become mates. It all started with me and her being taken from Jasper Park to Idaho, the humans brought us there to… repopulate." Humphrey began.

"And… did you? Eh, stud?" Ios asked raising and eye brow and giving a sly smile.

"No… I would joke around about it, but never, I knew better, she could kill me if she wanted to. She didn't like the idea one bit though, and plus she said something about getting back to the pack, otherwise there'd be big trouble. We found a goose and a duck playing some kind of weird game they called golf. Marcel, the goose, and Paddy the duck helped us make our way back, first by getting us a ride in the back of one of those trucks. Marcel called it a camper. Anyway, after a mishap a cupcake, Kate and I were separated from it, and asked our bird friends to help us again; they found us a train to ride, straight to Jasper."

"Sounds like you had quiet a wild ride." Ios said, lying down on the ground inside the cage.

"Yeah, but that night on the train, I howled at the full moon, and she joined me. We both sounded great together…"

"Doesn't that mean you're meant for each other?" Ios asked.

"Yeah, but it's never happened between an alpha and omega. When we made it to Jasper, Kate told everyone that she was going to marry Garth…" Humphrey concluded.

"Do what! How could she? Who's Garth?" Ios asked, sitting up.

"Garth was the son of Tony, who was the leader of a rival pack, the eastern pack, in the valley. I found out that they were running out of food and had agreed to unite with our pack. But they had some kind of mumbo jumbo with marriage. They needed Kate, who was the daughter of Winston, our pack leader, to marry Garth. That morning I told her that I was leaving to become a lone wolf. When I left though, she seemed sad." Humphrey explained.

"Wow bro, it all must have been tough for you to go through, falling I love and having it shoved back in your face." Ios said.

"Yeah, it doesn't feel very good." Humphrey said, his ears drooped. He then suddenly got interested in Ios's past.

"What about you? What adventures have you had?" He asked.

"I… uh… well I-… Honestly, I can't remember my any. I don't remember anything other than the last week." Ios said, his face changed to sadness. His eye lids covered slightly his light blue colored eyes.

"You can't remember? What do you remember?" Humphrey asked his friend.

**#**"I remember running in darkness, finding a road, and a bright light. After waking up on that road, I went through what you did when the rangers shot you with a dart." Ios finished.

"You don't have a pack or family? A girlfriend even?" Humphrey asked.

"You're not really helping, Humphrey. And no, as far as I know, I'm a lone wolf just like you."

"I'm sorry." Humphrey comforted.

"It's alright. Anyway, when I woke up, a day or two later, you came along. Must mean we're friends from now on, right?" Ios asked.

"That sounds good to me." Humphrey perked his ears and smiled.

"Great." Ios said, doing the same.

Humphrey turned his attention to his surroundings again. The thoughts of Kate never left his mind, hiding in the reassesses of his brain.

"You miss her, don't you."

"Yeah, but I can't go back, I don't want to." Humphrey replied.

"Wouldn't it give you some form of relief or closure seeing her happy with that other guy, what was his name? Barf?" Ios joked.

"Haha, yeah… I don't know, I think it would make me angry if I saw them together."

"Well, you never know right? What if by some crazy chance that they didn't get married?" Ios wondered.

"That would be a miracle." Humphrey actually thought about what his friend said, what if she didn't marry Garth? He could tell Kate his true feelings, and the reason why he left the pack.

"You'll never know once the humans take us away though; maybe we should make an escape." Ios thought. He walked over to the cage's gate and began to tinker with it.

"Ios? What are you doing?" Humphrey asked Ios as he fidgeting with something on the side of the gate.

"Trying to get this loose… urg… ahha!" Ios stepped back as the gate opened.

"How'd you do that?"

"I don't know, I just did it." Ios sneaked through the gate making his way behind a nearby tree, signaling Humphrey to follow him.

Humphrey hesitated, if he followed Ios, he would have trouble with forgetting Kate, and maybe after a while he could go back and see her again.

"I'm coming." Humphrey whispered as he sneaked out and followed Ios.

"Get down!" Ios whispered loudly as he saw and heard a human opening a door to the small building, walking out toward the cages the two had just escaped from.

"Oh my god, Chuck, the wolves are gone!" The human yelled running back into the building.

"Alright, let's make a run for it!" Ios yelled to Humphrey as he and Ios jumped to their feet to run away, heading for some dense woodland to hide into.

The humans grabbed their tranquillizer rifles and started chasing the wolves as fast as they could, but after they saw the two wolves make it to the tree line, they gave up.

_A while later… _

"I think we're good here Humphrey." Ios said, panting heavily and laying down in his exhaustion. He and Humphrey had been running, not stopping until they were deep in the woods to avert getting captured again by humans.

Humphrey crumpled to the ground after running for his life away from the humans, once again. Panting and tired from the long day of excitement.

"What do we do now?" Humphrey asked, sitting up.

"We're free wolves now; we can do what ever we want. Whatever you feel like doing." Ios told him.

The sun still held itself in the sky, gleaming a few more hours of daylight upon the rock called earth.

"Hmm, maybe go get some water?" Humphrey asked, starting to feel strength come back into his body.

"I would have suggested that, lets go." Ios sniffed the air and started off, thinking water would be nearby.

The walk was mostly dreadful silence; on the other hand, Humphrey had made a new friend.


	5. Chapter 5 Dreams Know The Truth

Darkness blanketed the landscape, stars and a half moon were all that were left of the light. A beautiful young golden wolf and her two friends, a caddy duck and an avid golf playing goose were walking through a dark forest, in search of someone in which Kate longed to find.

"Kate, we need to stop and find a place to sleep and rest." Marcel huffed.

"I believe Marcel is right Kate, we should stop and rest, then we'll get up early in the morning to begin searching for Humphrey." Paddy added.

"Oh alright." Kate said, plopping on the ground in a pouting manner, she held a look of irritation.

"See you all in the morning." Marcel rested his head on a small pebble and went to sleep immediately, snoring slightly.

"Never ceases to amaze me, he can lay his head down and in a matter of seconds, and he's out. And the bird can sleep through anything." Paddy said, getting comfortable, sitting up in a tree.

Kate closed her eyes. She thought of what it would be like when she finally found Humphrey, what he would do, what would happen. The thoughts followed her into her dreams as her mind began to enter its phases of sleep.

_Dreamland…_

"_Huh?" Kate's voice echoed in the darkness. _

_Then a tree appeared, another, then another, and soon a whole forest just grew before her eyes. _

_She explored these woodlands, but a scent touched her nose. _

"_Humphrey?" She sniffed in the scent, she knew that scent, and only one wolf she knew had it._

_She started off in a fast walk, then a trot, and as the scent got stronger, she began to run as fast as she could. _

_Not paying attention to where she was going, she ran into something._

"_Ow! Watch where you're goi… Kate? Kate!" The familiar voice nearly overflowed her emotions with pure happiness._

"_Humphrey! I missed you so much!" Kate hugged the gray omega wolf, who was lying on the ground under Kate._

_Kate let go of Humphrey and helped him up, sitting and looking at him. She was astounded, she had finally found him._

"_Humphrey, I have something to tell you… I hate you." She said. No, she did not just say those words. She grew a concerned facial expression._

"_W-what?" Humphrey asked._

"_No, no, no. Humphrey, I…L...lo..v…Hate You." She couldn't say what she needed to say. The words were warped, twisted, and hurtful. _

"_How could you say that to me?" Humphrey let tears pour from his eyes. _

"_I'm glad you're crying Humphrey, you can die for all I care." Kate's face showed surprise and fear, but her words viciously left her lips, the venom stinging Humphrey's emotional hurt further.. His hurt slashed at her heart, nearly crippling her._

"_Kate… how… could you…" Humphrey cried even more, but as he cried, his clear tears became crimson red, blood. He looked down, hiding his face from Kate, blood poured from his tear ducts to the ground in a puddle, two white spheres fell to the ground, his eyes._

"_Humphrey?" Kate started to back away._

"_Why! Kate!" Humphrey looked up at her, his face was disfigured, deformed, disgusting, parts of his face was bloody bone, while other parts were infected tissue, his eye sockets were dark hollow holes. The surroundings grew darker, the trees burned, the grass turned black, the sky became an eerie red._

_Humphrey pushed Kate and held her down, staring down at her; the flesh on his body was being eaten away before her very eyes. His gruesome body of blood and gore was falling apart on top of her. _

_The horrifying creature which was no longer Humphrey started to rip her body apart, ripping off limb by limb, cracking open her rib cage and jerking out as many bloodied organs as possible, twisting and utterly breaking her neck._

"_YOU DID THIS TO ME!" _

_Reality…_

"AHHHHHHH!" Kate screamed as she woke from her hellish nightmare.

The screams woke Paddy and Marcel, the came to Kate's aid quickly.

"Kate, Kate calm down, what wrong?" Paddy comforted.

Kate was shaking from her terrorizing dream, weeping and looking around frantically, as if someone would sneak up behind her and take her away.

"Kate?" Marcel put a wing on her.

Kate whipped her head around and looked at Marcel, who was surprised to find that she embraced him and cried on his shoulder.

He put a wing around her in a comforting motion as she cried.

"It was horrible…" She whimpered through her cries.

"It's all over now Kate, it was just a dream." Marcel comforted.

A few minutes later, Kate had stopped crying.

"Let's get moving, it'll take your mind off of things." Paddy suggested.

Paddy and Marcel grew increasingly concerned for Kate, first voices, now nightmares.

Kate stood up and followed Paddy with Marcel beside her. She couldn't stop the dream from tormenting her mind.


	6. Chapter 6 Unfortunately

The sky orange, sleepily darkening as the sun left, giving light to two wolves who were lying down by a small lake of water.

"So, Humphrey, what do you want to do tomorrow?" Ios asked, sitting by the quiet lake.

Humphrey thought about it, Had Ios forgotten about going back to Jasper? What if Humphrey wanted to go to Jasper to see Kate… one last time. No, as long as Ios didn't bring it up, he wouldn't even dare say….

"We could go to Jasper." Humphrey suggested. _"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"_

"Oh, great idea, wanna see your girl again right, sure." Ios joked.

"No, it's not that… I… I just wanted to see how my old friends are doing." Humphrey saved himself some embarrassment.

"What's their names?" Ios asked, smirking, seeing if he was lying or not.

"Shakey, Salty and Mooch." Humphrey sped the words off of his tongue.

"Hmm, sure, I'll go with that." Ios said with a bit of sarcasm.

"As a matter of fact, we're best friends."

"Then why did you leave them?" Ios asked.

Humphrey had totally forgotten about how his old buds felt about him leaving the pack to become a lone wolf.

"I… I forgot about them, I didn't want to stay there anymore, I just couldn't…" Humphrey tried to finish but couldn't.

"Hey bro, it's alright, I understand, you went through a lot. At least you have memories." Ios now brought the sad train on him.

"Could it have been amnesia or something that made you forget?" Humphrey asked, forgetting about his friends and Kate for a second.

"Could be." Ios said, laying his body down, facing the sparkling lake.

"You're doing pretty well for a wolf who doesn't remember a thing." Humphrey chuckled.

"Yeah." Ios chuckled back.

A movement in the bushes startled Ios and Humphrey; they both put themselves on alert and moved around to check on what made the sound, getting on either side of the shrub in an attempt to surround it.

"Humphrey, on the count of three take it down. Got it?"

"Got it Ios." Humphrey replied, whispering.

"One… two… Three!" Ios and Humphrey pounced on the bush, fighting something similar in form and species as they, but oddly different…

"What the…?" Ios said bewilderingly.

"I was not expecting that." Humphrey said, looking down at the wolf he and Ios were holding down.

Ios and Humphrey looked down at the female wolf. Her fur was red, lighter red on her underside. The female wolf brandished green eyes. Her hair was of medium width, thin bangs covered her right eye, a bit dirty but maintained. Her complexion was attractive, but she seemed to know how to handle herself as her body showed her feminine muscle, but also showed her feminine features and curves.

"Get off!" The female wolf was able to shove Humphrey and Ios off of her, they were surprised by her strength.

"Why were you spying on us?" Ios asked, his eyes tried not to trail along her tempting features. Humphrey was having just as much trouble keeping his composure as Ios did.

"I wasn't spying! Don't flatter yourself." The female wolf huffed. "I was simply trying to get a drink, but you two got here first, I figured if I waited long enough, you would leave." She said.

"Turns out you were wrong friend, but you didn't have to wait, we aren't going to hurt you." Humphrey told her.

"Could have known that sooner." She scoffed.

"What's your name?" Ios asked.

"I'm not telling you." The wolf said, going over to the side of the lake to get a drink of water.

"Well why not?" Ios asked. "I'm only trying to be friendly."

"Does it look like I want to be your friend?" She asked, walking away.

"Maybe." Ios said back.

She didn't say anything back; she just walked away, disappearing into the darkness of the dense forest.

"Do you think she could come along with us if I asked?" Ios asked Humphrey.

"She doesn't look like she would want to, besides, we don't need a girl getting in our way, she'd only slow us down." Humphrey said.

"Slow you down! SLOW YOU DOWN!" She yelled, running at Humphrey, staring him down as he cowered.

"I can tell you're a self absorbed male who only cares for himself!." She argued.

"Whoa, whoa, take it easy, we didn't mean anything by it." Ios tried to calm the situation.

The female glared at him. "You know what; I don't need this right now." She turned around and walked away, yet again.

"What's her problem?" Ios whispered to Humphrey.

The female wolf's ears could hear really well, as she heard Ios's comment, she turned around and stared at him with her green eyes.

"Do you need any help, miss… uh, what's your name?" Ios asked.

The female sighed. "Grace, Grace is my name."

"You can call me Ios, and this is my friend, Humphrey. Would you by any chance have a pack or are you with somebody?" Ios asked curiously to Grace.

"No… I'm alone." She answered.

"_Yes!"_ Ios thought, just a thought though, doesn't mean anything… right?

"Would you like to come along with us?" Humphrey asked her.

"Where are you going?" Grace seemed to have calmed down.

"Jasper Park, wanna come?" Ios asked.

"I guess I can." Grace told them.

"Great, the more the merrier. We planned to head to Jasper tomorrow; we'll rest up here and head out in the morning." Ios stated.

"Sounds good to me." Humphrey said.

"Alright." Grace said.

The trio all sat down and began to tell about themselves to Grace, beginning with Ios, who didn't have much to tell, and then Humphrey, who had much to tell. Soon it was Grace's turn.

"Alright Grace, would tell us about you?" Ios asked her.

After hearing what these two wolves had to say, she felt a bit comfortable with the two, like she could relate to them. She also found out that Humphrey was the funny omega who was down and out because he left someone he loved because his love caste him aside. And Ios didn't have much of a past, well, as far as he could remember. And she knew her's wasn't much better.

"Okay, here it goes. I used to be in a pack, but I was kicked out after an accident." She began.

"What kind of accident?" Humphrey asked.

"I got a few wolves killed when we were out hunting…" She answered.

"Oh my, I'm sorry." Humphrey apologized.

"It's okay, that was a long time ago. Anyway, I traveled a long way from there, then I met this wolf, he was generous enough to share some food with me. He and I became friends for a while, then-" She was interrupted by Ios.

"So you're in a relationship?"

"No, that guy wasn't what I thought he was, a month ago he tried to… I don't want to talk about it." Grace said.

"What happened to him?" Humphrey asked.

"He's dead. I killed him." She said.

Ios and Humphrey both gulped nervously as they heard her comment.

"Don't worry, I wont hurt you guys, you seem nice." She reassured.

Ios and Humphrey both let out a relieved sigh.

"That's what happened to me, makes me feel like I'm nothing but a pretty face for some male to take his … frustration… out on." Grace said, bowing her head away from Ios and Humphrey.

"Grace, what happened to you was not right, that wolf must have been messed up in the head." Ios stated.

"And was the thing with you getting kicked out of the pack your fault?" Humphrey asked.

"No, everyone needed someone to blame, so they chose me." Grace said, her face clearly unhappy.

"That was wrong of them to do, and it's there lose." Ios said.

"Thanks Ios."

"No problem, Grace, that's what friends are for." Ios smiled.

After a while, the sun set, and the tree wolves bedded down for the night, each wolf sleeping a distance between one another.

**xxxXXXxxx**

_Meanwhile…_

"I'm feeling better, honest." Kate told Marcel.

"Alright, you've fooled me again; I'll leave you alone about it." Marcel said to her.

"We're just trying to find out what had you so scared earlier." Paddy told her.

"I know, but it was just a dream, I understand that now." Kate reassured her two friends.

"Paddy, I think we should fly overhead to get familiar with our surroundings." Marcel suggested.

"Will you be fine being left alone for a little while Kate?" Paddy asked her.

Kate nodded with a reassuring smile, raising her ears slightly.

"All right, we'll be back shortly." Paddy said as he and Marcel took off to the skies, the sun held a few hours of daylight left.

Kate watched as her friends flew away, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

She sighed as she slowly padded between the trees.

"I hope I find you soon Humphrey." She said to herself, as she continued on.

She heard the screech of a bird come from above, she looked up as she walked, tracking the bird with her eyes. Her thoughts though, always on Humphrey.

She didn't even mind paying attention to the ground she was walking on coming to and end ahead of her. Step after step she got closer until she was just before it, a paw lifting from the ground and landing on nothing but air, causing her to loose her balance and fall, twenty feet to the ground below, she would soon meet the jutting sharp rocks. She tried to grab the side of the small cliff like face, but it crumbled as it was only soft earth. Screaming until a sickly crack rang throughout the forest.

Kate opened her eyes, immediately feeling a shot of pain rip through her body.

"AHH!" She screamed and whimpered. Her body broken, lying upon its left side, a sharp, thin stone protruding from her rib cage, a trickle of blood came from her midsection. Her body was destroyed, a complete and utter mess, mutilated and broken. Bone ripped organ, organ bleed blood, blood took her life, slowly.

Kate attempted to move her head to see the extent of her injuries but was unable to both to a spine injury and as more pain came.

"Marcel! Paddy!" She screamed as loud as she could, coughing as she did, blood seeped from her muzzle.

Her friends wouldn't be able to hear her, she wouldn't make it. The pain she was in was ferociously attacking her will to stay awake, almost tempting her to black out, but she knew that if she fell for it, she'd never wake.

She began to cry at her unfortunate end, she didn't want to go; not like this, she had her entire life ahead of her, the tears fell, the strength it took to make them drained her faster.

Then Humphrey came into her mind, she knew she had hurt him, and this was her punishment, to die without ever seeing him again and fixing what she did to him. The worst feeling she could ever feel, unable to fix something she so desperately tried to repair. But her fate seemed to have other plans; she'd die a slow and painful death, alone, and without redemption.

But Humphrey's kind and gentle face, she started to fight to stay alive, for him… but she was slowly loosing… the final fight to the end.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"I think we should head back now, sir." Paddy said, with his English accent.

Marcel nodded, and flew back to the last known location of Kate.

When they got there, Kate was no where to be seen.

"She should have stayed here, now we have to go find her." Marcel put a wing on his forehead out of irritation.

Paddy looked at the soft ground; little dips in the earth which were once paw prints shown in the dirt.

"We should follow these tracks." Paddy told Marcel.

"Good idea." Marcel said.

The two followed the tracks a little ways before seeing a drop off ahead of them.

"Oh no..." Paddy said to himself as he went as fast as he could, with Marcel following behind him, a bit slower.

Paddy looked down from the top of the drop off to find a horrid scene.

"Oh good heavens... Kate... how could this had happened?" Paddy gasped at Kate's body, mangled in a bloody heap.

Marcel got there and gasped too. They both flew down to check if she was alive... she was dead. Paddy and Marcel held their emotions in for the sake of their deceased friend.

"What are we going to do Paddy?" Marcel asked Paddy, in a somber voice.

"We have to go back and tell Eve and Winston what happened." Paddy said.

"What happened Paddy? This isn't they things should have turned out."

"It just wasn't meant to be sir, we can't blame ourselves, we left her for a short while and came back to find her... like this."

"Terrible, just terrible." Marcel shook his head.

"Into paradise may your dreams lead you Kate. I'm sorry." Paddy spoke his words of peace and turned to look at Marcel.

The duck and goose flew off; they couldn't stand seeing Kate in that state. They headed north to Jasper, to tell of the sad news.


	7. Chapter 7 Unwanted Unknowns

Marcel and Paddy didn't stop to rest, even when night fell, they flew straight to Jasper, to tell a mother and father about the grave lose of their daughter, Kate.

Flying above the valley, they made their way down, where the eastern and western packs were all bedded down, still sleeping because the day was still early.

After landing, they went to seek out Eve and Winston, come to find out, Kate's whole family was sleeping in the main den, Winston, Eve, Lilly, and her brother-in-law Garth.

"Should we wake them?" Paddy whispered to Marcel.

"No, let them sleep." Marcel whispered back.

**xxxXXXxxx**

A red wolf's internal clock brought her from her deep sleep, yawning and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. The sun was just coming over the horizon.

She looked over to the other two wolves, Ios and Humphrey; she had just met them yesterday. She had misjudged them, but she still didn't feel like trusting them, after going through what she had experience in her near past.

They were nice enough though, maybe once they made it to Jasper, she could settle down into another pack, and forget about everything else, just go with the flow into another pack's society.

Grace stood up to get a drink from the still lake.

Just she did so, Humphrey woke up.

"Good morning, Grace." Humphrey said as he sat up, swaying a bit from the uneven distribution of blood in his body, giving him a slight light headedness feeling.

Grace didn't say anything back, just got her drink of water and sat down, staring out at the shinning lake.

"The silent treatment? Fine, don't talk to me." Humphrey pouted.

"I'm not talkative in the morning." She said.

"Oh, grumpy." He joked.

She glared at him.

"Whoa, I'm just kidding." He backed off.

Ios woke with a yawn, stretching his stiff muscles.

"Just another one of those days." Ios said, standing up and walking over to get some water.

"Good morning guys, ready to go to Jasper?" Ios asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Humphrey said.

"I guess so." Grace said.

"Wow, you guys are just downers. Come on Humphrey, you get to see Kate again." Ios tried to cheer the two up.

"I know, it's just that…well, you know." Humphrey said.

"It's okay bro, if things go bad, then you got us to back you up, she'll see that you made some friends and are doing pretty well on your own." Ios comforted.

"And if that fails, we can always say that Grace is your girlfriend." Ios joked.

Grace walked over to him; he was sitting down so she used her paw to pull one out from under him, making him fall to the ground.

"Jeesh, don't know how to take a joke do you." Ios said angrily.

"She woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." Humphrey said to Ios.

Ios stood up.

"Hmm." Ios walked towards her, she stood up and started backing away from him, not paying attention to the lake behind her.

"What are you doing?" Grace asked him.

"I'm going to show you how to lighten up." Ios said, pouncing on her, causing both of them to tumble into the lake.

Grace rose to the surface. "What is your problem!" She yelled. When he surfaced, she used her paw to splash some water onto his face. She laughed.

Ios splashed her back, laughing at her.

The two began splashing each other, laughing, and having fun.

When they stopped, Grace's mood was happier. They shook their fur dry when they got out of the water.

"Did you two have fun?" Humphrey asked as he smirked.

"It was Ios's fault. Jerk." She said, playfully insulting Ios.

"Hey, you deserved it. And you're laughing, so it worked." Ios gave a smile.

"Whatever, we should start heading towards Jasper." She changed the subject.

"We should head north then, it'll be a good place to start." Humphrey told the two.

The three wolves walked north, around the lake to begin their long journey to, what they believed, would lead to a happier life, but for Humphrey, the complete opposite.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"I think they're waking up." Paddy told Marcel.

"Marcel? Paddy? What are you doing here? Where's Kate?" Winston asked as he woke up.

The two waited until they all woke up, in all, it was Winston, Eve, Lilly, Garth, and Tony who waited for them to speak.

"We have some news that won't be easy for you all to hear." Paddy began.

The wolves all expressed their grief for their lost family member, daughter, and sister. They couldn't believe she was gone.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Haha, made you laugh." Ios laughed with Grace.

"Shut up, no you didn't." She detested, but couldn't help but giggle.

"It's contagious!" Humphrey laughed with them.

"What were we laughing about?" Ios asked.

"I have no Idea." Humphrey chuckled.

"Something about you two being idiots?" Grace insulted with a smirk.

"Oh no you did not." Ios tripped her playfully.

"Ow, that hurt." Grace cried

"Oh, I'm so sorry Grace, are you okay?" Ios asked apologetically.

"No… it's my… HA!" Grace sprung up and tackled Ios to the ground.

"No fair!" Ios pouted.

"Is too fair." She triumphantly said as she stood over him.

"Now that I think about it… I could get used to this." Ios chuckled.

"I'll rip 'em off, I swear." She growled.

"Heh, heh, I'm just kidding." Ios cowered.

"That's what I thought." She said as she let him up.

"I could so take you in a fight." Ios challenged, as he stood up.

"You would fight a female?" Humphrey asked.

"You'd only end up hurt, Ios. Don't try me." Grace said.

"I wouldn't fight a girl, but I'd fight Grace." Ios said, adding insult to injury.

"That's it!" Grace whirled around and kicked Ios's shoulder with her two rear legs, sending him flying back.

"I wasn't ready!" Ios argued.

"I'm betting on Grace." Humphrey chuckled.

"What? How could you Humphrey, she's just a girl I think, I can take her." Ios said laughing a bit.

"How about we make it interesting, loser admits he sucks, and will do what ever the winner says for the rest of the trip." Grace suggested.

"What? Ah come on… you know what… Deal." Ios agreed, getting in an attacking stance.

"Come on; show me what you've got." Grace was now challenging Ios; she wanted to see how far he'd go before admitting she was better.

"Glad too." Ios and Grace prowled in a circle, watching their opponents every move.

Grace sped up a bit, closing the circle as she pounced on him, he landed on his side, with her gripping her teeth around his neck, ready to apply pressure and kill.

"Grace wins, Ios looses, didn't expect that to happen." Humphrey sarcastically joked.

Ios smirked, he used his free left rear leg to kick Grace in the stomach, she let off of him. He pushed her on the ground, standing over her, a paw over her throat, chocking her a bit.

"What?" Humphrey was astounded

"I win." Ios got off and let her up.

"That was totally a cheat's move, I should have thought of that sooner. You win Ios. I guess I have to do what ever you want for the rest of the trip. And I suck." Grace admitted.

"I won't hold you to it; I don't want to be mean." Ios said to her.

Grace was surprised, it was the first time someone had beaten her in a fight, even though it was a move she didn't expect, and it was kind of a low blow, and she had him first, but it was still a fight. And Ios was kind enough to refuse the prize of her doing what ever he wanted.

"Now that that's out of the way, can we keep going?" Humphrey asked the two.

Ios and Grace nodded to Humphrey and followed him as he started walking.

"Humphrey, I never got to ask you. Is this Kate, prettier than I am?" Grace's question wasn't expected.

"Um… uh… About the same really…" He stuttered.

"About the same? Who's prettier?" She persisted.

"I'm going to say Kate is prettier because I always had a crush on her." Humphrey answered.

Ios walked up beside him. "Good answer bro." He whispered to Humphrey.

"Wait, I smell something." Grace stopped and sniffed the air.

"What is it?" Humphrey also stopped to sniff the air. "I don't smell anything."

"I don't either." Ios said.

"No guys, it smells like… *sniff*… death." She started running toward the smell, Ios and Humphrey followed. How she knew the smell of death, they'll never know.

"Wait, I'm starting to smell it too." Ios said as he ran.

"It should be right up… here." Grace said as they all stopped.

They all stopped a little ways from the base of a small cliff like area; they all had their eyes at its base.

Dried blood covered the rocks; a mutilated corpse was skewered on a few of the jutting stones.

"That's sick." Ios said, looking away.

"Is that another wolf?" Humphrey asked.

"I think so, I can't really tell because of … all of the… oh no." Grace excused her self to throw up in a nearby bush from the disgustingly horrible sight.

Humphrey looked closer at the dead wolf, he examined it as he got closer, seeing the golden fur, what were once feminine curves were now broken tissue and bones, getting closer, the eye lids were still opened, revealing pain filled lifeless amber colored eyes, the wolf's face was familiar to him. It couldn't be…

"No…"

**xxxXXXxxx**

_'Do you want to see him again?"_

_"Yes, I do." _

_"He must face pain and suffering for you." _

_"I know he'll make it." _

_"What if he doesn't?"_

_"Then we weren't meant for each other..."_


	8. Chapter 8 There For Grief

"Kate! No!" Humphrey cried, he had pulled Kate's body from the rocks, and was crying over it.

Ios and Grace only looked on in sadness for their friend's lose. The whole point of this journey was to let Humphrey see her again, but just... not like this...

Humphrey cried loudly. "Why! This is all my fault!"

"Humphrey…" Grace began.

"Go away!" He snapped at Grace.

Grace withdrew, surprised at his actions, but she understood his situation. Instead of being angry, she walked over to him.

He leaned over on her and cried.

_Days later…_

Humphrey, Ios, and Grace had moved away from the rotting corps of Kate, to a clearing clear of trees and bushes, a small stream nearby gave them a fresh supply of water, and the deer gave Ios and Grace the chance to hunt. The three bonded a bit closer, knowing each other a little more, a close connection.

Humphrey talked to Ios and Grace from time to time, telling them of his feelings, but the last day he hasn't said a word, he didn't care anymore, the only glimmer of hope, had vanished. Thoughts ran through his head.

"_Why would she be out here?"_

"_How could this have happened?"_

"_Where's Garth?"_

"_Isn't Kate married to him?" _

"_What if she's wasn't?"_

"_What if she was looking for me…"_

"_I'm such a fool…"_

Grace and Ios sat together, looking at their depressed friend.

"It had to happen to him. He's the nicest guy I've met. He may be the only guy I know, but he doesn't deserve this." Ios said.

"He doesn't. Life can be so cruel sometimes." Grace mourned.

"What are we supposed to do now? Go back to his pack?" Ios asked her, he didn't know what to do.

"From what he's told me… Kate was all he had to live for, and without her… the will to live is pointless."

After that, they sat in silence until the sun was only just at the horizon.

They both watched as Humphrey stood up, and walked away; they knew he was going back to Kate's body.

A few minutes later they heard a howl, the howl brought tears to Grace's eyes and gave a heavy sadness to Ios. Humphrey's howl was so full of hurt.

"We need to help him, anyway we can. He's not going to go through this alone." Ios said.

Grace nodded. "Let's go find him."

They left to go find Humphrey and give him support and comfort in any way they could.

When they arrived, they saw Humphrey lying down beside Kate's body, by now the corps was beginning to rot and decay, the smell was… somewhat bearable but disgusting.

"Humphrey, lets take a walk." Grace went over to him and nudged him with her nose.

"I don't want to." He said, his voice sounded tired and hollow, he hasn't slept since he found Kate.

"It'll be good for you; we need to talk about some things." She persisted, it paid off. Humphrey stood up and followed her and Ios.

"Ios, I need to talk with Humphrey alone for a while… do you mind?" She asked him.

"That's fine; I'll go back to the clearing." He said as he walked off.

And with that, Ios walked away, leaving Grace and Humphrey alone.

Grace had developed a fondness for Humphrey; other wolves wouldn't be able to survive what Humphrey's going through. He was very strong in the mental sense of the word. She knew he wouldn't survive much longer, he had stopped eating and drinking water, his body started to deteriorate. She thought of ways to give him a purpose to live. Friends, in this case, weren't enough.

Humphrey followed, showing no interest in anything what so ever.

"Humphrey, I know what you're going through is hard, but all you need to do is let go and accept it. In time it will all be better." She tried her best to say comforting words.

Humphrey said nothing; he just followed, shuffling his paws on the ground, and staring down, his light blue eyes were dry; he cried all he could to the point until he was too tired, too sad, and too weak to cry anymore.

Grace stopped under a tree, and sat down. Humphrey sat down a distance away.

"Humphrey, are you going to talk to me?"

He shook his head.

"We're alone Humphrey, you can tell me anything you want." Grace said, moving the thin strips of hair from the side of her face that covered her right eye, revealing both of her beautifully attractive green eyes. She walked over to him and sat in front of him.

Humphrey looked up at her, surprised to find their closeness to one another, and her eyes, they gave him a sense of warmth and comfort.

"I'm here for you Humphrey, what ever you need. What ever you want to talk about… what ever you want to do." She told him.

"I… she's gone…" he bowed his head again.

Grace placed a paw on his chin and brought his head up to face hers, seeing his eyes glazed over.

She saw the pain in his eyes; no one should feel that pain. For what ever reason Kate was out here for, he must think it's all his fault.

So she did the only thing that she thought would make a significant difference, whether good or bad, she'd find out.

The gap between then closed as Grace leaned in closer.

Humphrey looked into her green eyes, watching her come closer, finally closing his eyes as she did, leaning in closer.

"I can't…" Humphrey said, averting Grace's lips.

"I only want to help you Humphrey." She reassured, she shuffled back away from Humphrey to give him some space.

"I know… but please, not in that way." Humphrey's ears drooped.

"We don't want to loose you Humphrey. You're more than you think; Ios and I see that in you." Grace comforted.

Humphrey kept his eyes to the ground; he was tired, but he was too depressed to sleep.

"You need to talk to someone? I won't tell anyone else, you can trust me." Grace was persistent because she wanted to show him that she cared.

Humphrey shook his head.

"If I were her, I'd want you to move on, live your life happily."

"I know… But what else is there…" Humphrey had lost all sense of joy, he didn't make jokes, and he hasn't laughed in days.

"There's everything." Grace told him.

He didn't reply, he just sat there in a sad slump.

"Come on, let's head back." Grace said as she stood up, with Humphrey following.

"Grace! Humphrey! Where are you!" Grace heard Ios yell.

She started running to the sound of his voice, Humphrey followed.

"What is it Ios?" She asked when she saw him run up to her.

"Kate's body is gone." Ios panted.

Humphrey pushed the two out of the way to see it for himself.

He reached the base of the small cliff, Ios was right, she wasn't there anymore. The dried blood which covered the rocks no longer stained them; it was as if it never was there.

Grace and Ios caught up to him.

"I don't know what happened, I was walking back when I looked over here, and it was gone." Ios explained to Grace.

"Well she couldn't have gotten up and walked off now could she?" Grace said sarcastically.

Ios gave her a smug look.

"_Humphrey… Humphrey…"_ A voice faintly called Humphrey's name.

Humphrey raised his ears, searching for the source of the sound.

"_Humphrey… do you remember me?"_ The voice asked him.

"Did you say anything?' Humphrey asked, looking behind him at Grace and Ios.

"No" Grace eyed him curiously.

"Nuh uh." Ios shook his head.

"_Do you want to save Kate?"_ The male voice asked him, the voice sounded like the one that told him to jump off the train.

Humphrey's eyes widened.

"What have you done with her!" Humphrey yelled, Grace and Ios looked at him, completely confused and worried.

_"Do you wish to see her again?"_ The voice continued.

"Yes, now what have you done with her!" Humphrey's anger demanded.

"_Then do what I tell you, I want you to jump in a river north west of here, jump in that river and swim downstream until you reach a water fall…"_ The voice explained.

"Then what" Humphrey demanded.

"_Follow the water."_ The voice answered.

"Humphrey, snap out of it! What's going on?" Humphrey didn't realize that Ios was right in his face.

"I know what to do!" Humphrey yelled, he pushed Ios out of the way and started running, heading northwest to the river.

_"Bring your friends, you'll need their help, but tell them of the grave danger ahead. They may die a horrible death."_ The voice sounded out in his head.

Humphrey stopped, turning around.

"Grace, Ios come here." Humphrey commanded, they did so cautiously.

"I'm going to need you're help, the chances of living are slim. You can help me, or leave." Humphrey told the two.

"What is this about Humphrey?" Grace asked.

"Yeah, what's gotten in to you?" Ios asked.

"I know how to save Kate." Humphrey said. He turned back around to run for the river.

Grace and Ios looked at each other; they shrugged, and followed Humphrey as he ran. Knowing that they may die, what else did they have? They'd do it for Humphrey.


	9. Chapter 9 The Beginning

"Humphrey! Stop and tell us what's going on!" Ios yelled to Humphrey, barely able to keep up with him.

"No, I can't stop now!" Humphrey yelled back.

"What's gotten into him, he's running faster than we are, and he's an omega." Grace said to Ios who was running beside her.

"I don't know, but he sure isn't acting like an omega anymore." Ios said.

They had been running flat out for nearly fifteen minutes, soon they began to hear the sounds of flowing water.

"Is that a river?" Ios asked.

"Sounds like it." Grace was saying, panting as she did.

Humphrey ran through the trees, a river sprang upon them.

"Whoa, what now?" Ios said as he skidded to a stop, catching his breath.

Grace and Ios watched as Humphrey dove onto the river.

"Humphrey! What are you thinking!" Grace screamed at him.

"Come on!" Humphrey yelled.

"He did say it would be life or death, I have nothing to loose, so…" Ios jumped in, paddling to Humphrey as he was carried downstream.

"This is crazy." Grace jumped in, also being carried away by the swift current.

The three wolves were carried downstream, the current getting faster and faster.

"I don't like this!" Grace screamed, getting thrown around in the rough water, spitting water and coughing.

"Oh no!" Ios yelled as he saw the water suddenly fall ahead of them, He took action, since he was ahead of the group; he grabbed a tree root that stuck out just before the falls. He held on to it with his two front paws, he saw Grace go under. He waited for the right moment to grab her using his teeth, snatching one of her rear legs.

"Ow!" She yelped.

"Sorry." Ios said, his voice muffled.

Grace saw Humphrey quickly speeding toward the falls; she held out her front paws and grabbed a hold of his front paws.

"What are you doing?" Humphrey asked her over the roar of the falls.

"Saving you!" She said to his face.

"Trust me; we have to go over the falls to save her!"

"What!" She yelled.

"Let me go." He said, staring at her eyes.

Grace looked into his eyes; she didn't really have much of a choice.

"Ios! Let go!" She yelled behind her.

"What?" Ios asked, accidentally letting go of her leg as she and Humphrey fell down the water fall, screaming.

"Oh!" Ios, surprised, let go of the branch accidentally, falling with his friends to the bottom of the falls.

After that, all of them fell into darkness.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"_The time has come." _

**xxxXXXxxx**

Three wolves lay unconscious on soft charred earth, the forest around them was no longer a lush paradise of green and life, but of black and gray lifelessness, shriveled and twisted, evil in themselves, branches struck out as an attempt to grab any passer by. The sky was an evil blood red color; the sight would send anyone into shock.

One of the wolves began to wake, groaning from an achy and stiff body.

"Ugh, what happened?" It was Ios who sat up, swaying as he felt light headed.

"Whoa… what is this place?" He looked around him, seeing the twisted trees, red sky, and the once brown dirt now charred black.

He saw Humphrey and Grace lying on the ground, so he decided to wake them up.

"Hmm, wha.." Grace opened her eyes, feeling a nudge on her side.

"Come on Grace, get up." Ios nudged her again.

"Oh… whoa!" She fell down as she tried to get up.

"Take it easy, I'm going to wake Humphrey up." Ios told her walking over and nudging Humphrey awake.

Grace took the time to stand up and get familiar with her surroundings.

"Hey, Humphrey, time to get up." Ios nudged Humphrey's face with his paw.

Humphrey opened his eyes, and then he jumped up at attention, looking around.

"_You're awake."_ A voice echoed, this time, Grace and Ios heard it.

"I did what you said, now what?" Humphrey asked.

"_That was one of many trials you must face. You faced your fear of death to save the one you love."_ The voice said, it was the same one Humphrey had heard before.

"Trials?" Humphrey asked.

"_Yes, you must complete them, or she dies_." Humphrey, Grace, and Ios's eyes widened.

"Who will die?" Grace asked nervously.

"Kate." Humphrey told her.

"I thought she was already dead?" Grace asked, no one answered her. How could that be? Kate was dead wasn't she? How could she be alive…

"_In this forest, you will find the various challenges you must face to free Kate. Do you accept? This is your last chance to turn back now, or you will die." _

"I'm staying; I'm going to save Kate." Humphrey stomped a foot on the ground.

Ios didn't want to die, what if he could find a better life out there somewhere? But what about his friend Humphrey? Humphrey had been through more pain and sadness than he has. If he was going to die, he wouldn't go out without a fight, or a reason.

"I wont let you go alone Humphrey." Ios stood tall, siding up to Humphrey.

"This is nuts!" Grace yelled. The whole thing to her seemed like a bad dream, only this dream had consequences. Her life wasn't one worth living if you had a choice, but she kept going hoping to find a reason in this world, the same as Ios and Humphrey had. She liked Humphrey for his courage and for his heart. Humphrey would give up his own life for the one he loves. Maybe she should do the same…

"I'm with you Humphrey." Grace sided up to him as well.

Humphrey walked onward, into the badlands of the twisted forest, with Grace and Ios following closely behind him.

Humphrey himself, he was scared, but not for himself or for his friends, he was scared for Kate, he had to do this, if he failed, she died, and he'd never see her again.

"So where do we go?" Ios asked, gazing at the eerie surroundings.

"We should just keep moving; the voice said that the trials were in the forest somewhere." Humphrey replied.

The twisted forest began to grow denser and they moved on.

"Humphrey this stuff is starting to get too thick, we have to turn around." Grace said. Just as she finished, something sharp pierced her back.

"OWW!" She screamed, falling to the ground in pain.

"What happened!" Humphrey looked back at her, seeing her on the ground with a shimmering crimson liquid oozing from her back.

Ios looked around to find what did it, he saw a thin charred vine, dangling from the top of the trees with blood dripping from it.

"Humphrey… do you think… the trees did it?"

Humphrey looked up. "We need to get out of here, now."

They all suddenly heard a menacing growl behind them; it frightened them so much that they pushed on forward, through the dense forest, getting thicker as they went.

"OW!" Ios felt a slap on his left shoulder, and a sting afterward.

"What is that!" Humphrey yelled, looking behind him, seeing a large dark shadow through the tangled vines and branches that obscured his view.

"Keep running!" Grace commanded.

"AHH!" Humphrey screamed as he felt something graze his neck.

As they pushed through the dense tangled mess of vines, twigs, branches and limbs, more pain came to them as they were hit by an unknown being, they could only assume it was the trees.

"I can see a clearing up ahead, we can make it!" Ios yelled to his friends.

"It's getting closer! Run!" Grace was lagging behind; her back was giving her a hard time.

Humphrey and Ios jumped the rest of the way out to the clearing.

"We made it." Humphrey gave a sigh of relief.

"Wait… where's Grace?" Ios looked around.

"Grace!" Humphrey called.

"AHH! Help!" They heard her voice call out.

"Hold on Grace, we're coming!" Humphrey ran back into the twisted and tangled charred forest, dodging the many branches and vines until he came up on Grace, holding on for dear life with her front paws. She was being pulled into the shadows, by the large lumbering beast that had been following them.

"Humphrey! Help me, please!" Grace pleaded as the creature bit down on her legs.

Humphrey grabbed the scruff of Grace's neck and pulled but to no avail.

"Hold on Humphrey!" Ios dove in at the hulking shadowy creature, clawing and biting it, forcing it to let go of Grace.

"Ios?" Humphrey called, looking into the darkness of the tree's shadows.

Humphrey couldn't see any movement; he turned his attention to Grace.

"Come on Grace, I'm going to get you out of here." Humphrey grabbed her by the scruff of her neck again and pulled her to the clearing he and Ios had discovered.

"Grace? Can you sit up?" Humphrey asked.

"It hurts." She said, she used her front paws to push her upper body up, then sat on her haunches, her rear legs looked like they had been mauled painfully.

"I'm going back for Ios. Stay here." He said as he began leaving to find Ios.

"Don't do that Humphrey. I'm right here." Ios walked into the clearing.

"Phew, I thought you might have…" Humphrey began.

"I thought I would be too, but it just vanished, like it was never there." Ios replied. His body though, showed his fight between him and that creature, open gashed and wounds on his body, his fur matted with his blood.

Grace looked at him. "Thanks for risking your life for me Ios."

"Anytime." He grunted as he felt the pain settling in.

Just then, Humphrey noticed a flat rock with scribbles being burned into it.

"Hey guys… What's that?" Ios and Grace looked at what Humphrey was staring at.

They all felt the urge to go and take a look, both out of curiosity and an unknown force telling them to.

The rock bore the scars of the writing, and for some strange reason, Humphrey, Grace, and Ios understood what it said.

Humphrey started to read the passage. _"You've faced the shadow which is the unknown; now stare at the face of desire." _

"What does it mean?" Grace asked.

"I don't know, but I don't like it." Humphrey said.

"Something's telling me to go this way… come on, let's go." Ios started off walking with Humphrey and Grace following.

Two down, how many more to go… they'll soon find out.


	10. Chapter 10 Dying for Life in the End

Humphrey, Ios and Grace had been walking, in what seemed like circles.

"_Stray from the path…" _

"Let's go this way, I think I've seen that tree before." Humphrey suggested.

"Humphrey, bro, all the trees are the same." Ios said.

"It wouldn't hurt, we've been walking around for an hour, and my back is numb." Grace complained.

"I've got it worse, and all for saving you." Ios huffed.

"What? You need a kiss or something?" Grace asked sarcastically.

"Wouldn't hurt…" Ios smirked.

"Yeah, when birds grow gills and swim, then I'll think about it." Grace snapped, she watched as Ios suddenly stopped, perking his ears up.

"What is it?" Grace asked. Humphrey, who was leading, turned around.

"Don't you hear it?" Ios asked.

"Hear what?" Humphrey asked.

_"Ios… do you want to know of your past… this way…"_ A ghostly voice beckoned to him.

Ios put one foot in front of the other and before he knew it, he was following the sound of the voice.

"Ios, where are you going?" Grace worried, what if this was another test?

"We have to stick together!" Humphrey yelled out at him angrily.

Ios didn't answer, he just kept walking.

"Did you see that!" Grace frightfully whispered.

"No, what?" Humphrey asked.

_"Grace… We want you back… come join us…"_ The voice she heard was of her old pack's leader.

**#**"What?" Grace started walking towards the sound of the voice, leaving Humphrey, seeing glimpses of a shadow moving around. She caught a glimpse of the white face of the one who shunned her, begging her to come back to the pack.

"But you made me an outcast!" She growled angrily at the voice.

_"It was a mistake… come back…"_ The voice moaned as if it were dieing.

She wanted to with all her might to follow, but her willpower wouldn't let her. She started to step back, further away.

_"NO! COME BACK!"_ The voice screamed.

"AHHH!" Grace screamed as a shadow enveloped her sight, closing her eyes.

Nothing happened… Silence…

She opened her eyes, seeing the same scene, the twisted and charred forest.

"Humphrey, I think I know what the writing meant- Humphrey?" She looked around her, Humphrey was gone, and so was Ios.

"Humphrey where are you!"

**xxxXXXxxx**

_"I'm over hear Humphrey."_ Kate's voice called to him, echoing in his ears.

"Where are you, I can't wait to see you again." He said.

_"I'm right over here."_ Her voice led him in every direction.

"Where?" Humphrey was enjoying the little game of hide and seek he and Kate were having.

A golden colored tail like shape zoomed past his face as he heard Kate giggle.

"Alright Kate, I give up, can you come out now?" Humphrey played coy.

_"Nu uh, you have to find me first."_ Her laughter only fueled his desire to find her.

"Please? I can't take it anymore." Humphrey pleaded.

_"Oh alright… this way…"_ Humphrey's head turned toward the direction the voice left to.

_"Don't leave me waiting Humphrey, I can't wait for you."_ Humphrey followed.

"Humphrey!" He heard a faint voice call his name.

Realization hit him, this was all a trick.

_"Why did you stop?"_ Kate's voice asked innocently.

"You're not Kate." He spat.

_"What? Yes I am!"_

"No, I'm leaving." He turned around.

"But I'm right here…" The voice no longer sounded like an echo, its sweet tone came from a source right behind him.

Humphrey did a double take on the figure standing behind him.

"Kate?"

She stared at him. Humphrey was drawn to her.

"Humphrey! It's all a trick! Don't fall for anything!" It sounded like Grace's voice, a distance away.

Humphrey heard this and backed away from Kate.

Her expression went to sadness, as her face warped and changed to show fangs, and a glowing red pair of eyes, a demonic face appeared, scaring the living day lights out of Humphrey.

"Love me Humphrey!" The creature ran after him as Humphrey tried to escape.

When Humphrey turned to make it around a bend of trees, he tripped, toppling over and falling. The creature stood over him.

He heard the creature's sick laugh as he closed his eyes for his impending doom.

But it never came.

"Oh my gosh! Humphrey, I found you!" Grace came running towards him.

Humphrey opened his eyes, seeing Grace standing before him with a concerned look on her face.

"It wasn't real?" He asked.

"No, it's all a trick." She answered.

"Where's Ios?' Humphrey asked.

"I don't know, but we have to go find him." Humphrey got up to follow Grace through the dead forest.

**xXXXx**

"_All you need to know of your past is all right in this cave_." A ghostly voice echoed to Ios.

Ios stood there, contemplating on what to do.

His past was right there, he could know everything about his life, what he was, what he wanted to be. Maybe he had a family, and they mist him dearly. Either way, the curiosity was getting the better of him.

He took a few steps forward, reaching the mouth of the cave.

"_Ios! NOOOO!" _An unknown voice screamed from inside.

He heard voices resonate from the dark hole in the cave.

He started to think of his friends, Humphrey and Grace. He had a new life now, he wanted to start over. He already has all he needs, why chase down your past?

"No… I don't think I want to know about my past anymore." Ios turned to walk away.

"_It will haunt you for the rest of your miserable days." _

"I don't care, I can start over!" Ios growled.

"But maybe… I can… see a little bit…" Ios began to walk forward into the cave.

_"Suffer!" _The voice's screaming drove him back from the cave.

Spikes shot out of the ground, piercing Ios's body, it took the breath out of him as they ripped through his body. The spikes then slipped back into the ground, leaving Ios standing, blood dripping from the holes in his body.

He crumpled to the ground, fully conscious to the pain, but he was unable to scream, unable to cry.

"IOS!" He heard Grace scream.

The patter of paws on the ground came towards him.

Grace and Humphrey looked down at their friend.

"Good bye…" Ios's eyes slowly closed. His body was enveloped into the darkness, being consumed into the ground.

"No Ios… don't leave…" Grace started to tear up.

"_He failed." _A voice echoed as it left.

"We need to keep moving" Humphrey said to Grace softly.

The two headed on to the next stage of this sick and twisted land.

"What do we do now?" Grace choked through her tears.

Humphrey and Grace were tired, injured, and weak. Their wounds were painful and the emotional one's were equally as painful.

"Is that more writing?" Humphrey ran over to the base of a large tree trunk, it had scribbles that went all the way around it.

Grace read as she walked around the tree.

"_Here you will find the value of sacrifice, give your life for the greater good." _

A little wooden door opened on the tree, revealing a dark hole, and above it was more writing.

"_The darkness will take you." _

"So does it mean…"

"That one of us has to die… yeah." Grace said glumly. "We know who it has to be, Humphrey. When you see Kate, tell her she's very lucky to have you… do it for me." Grace moved towards the hole in the tree, but Humphrey stopped her.

"Grace you can't do this, I won't let you." Humphrey argued.

"I'm sorry." Grace head butted him in the midsection, causing him to fall elsewhere.

She stepped inside of the trunk of the tree, a tear dropping from her cheek.

"Grace! Get out of there!" Humphrey got up and ran towards her… but he was too late.

"Goodbye..." Grace whispered.

Inside the hollow tree trunk, a fire exploded, enveloping Grace, incinerating her body until she was no more.

Humphrey was alone, he cried on the ground, for every sick thing that has happened, his friends, all dead in horrible ways.

He was all that was left; it was up to him to save Kate, but how could he keep going?

A strange glowing light caught his eye; he saw a large blue gem being held up by a pedestal.

He curiously walked over to it; he looked into it seeing more words.

"_The ultimate sacrifice, death. Prick a limb upon this spike, a short time to live and say goodbye to love." _

Humphrey couldn't make sense of what he read. He looked around for the so called spike.

"What could it- OW!" He lifted his foot up to see a small spike in the ground had pierced his paw.

"A short time to live and say goodbye to love." He said, he finally understood what it meant, he would die to save the one he loved.

"This isn't fair!" He screamed.

"_Life isn't fair, you've completed all of the tasks, Kate will live, but you will die." _The voice was getting very annoying and irritating by now.

"Who are you! Why have you done this to me!" He yelled and screamed angrily, crying as he did.

He never got an answer.

He started to feel a pain in his chest, his heart started to skip beats, his lungs burned.

He gasped for breath, clenching a paw to his chest, gritting his teeth, fighting as much as he could.

A poison was taking him, his body began to shut down and collapse.

Humphrey fell to the ground, the life being sucked from him. He didn't want to die, but for Kate, he'd do anything. He wanted this to all be a nightmare that he'd wake up from, waking up to find Kate and living the rest of his life in peace. But life has a cruel way of taking the things you hold dear and ripping your heart.

"I … Love… You… Kate" Humphrey fell into a deep sleep, leading to the long journey of darkness… alone.


	11. Chapter 11 A Dream Come True

"Should we wake him?" A familiar male's voice asked.

"No, let him sleep, no rest for a few days can really take a toll on someone." A familiar female voice answered.

The Lone wolf, Humphrey, awoke, opening his eyes, seeing his friends, Ios and Grace, looking down at him.

"Oh, sorry, we didn't mean to wake you up." Grace's sweet voice rang through his ears.

"Grace? Grace!" Humphrey practically jumped for joy as he hugged her.

"Humphrey? Are you okay?" She asked him.

"He should be. You okay bro?" Ios's voice was heard by Humphrey.

"Ios!" Humphrey joyfully yelled as he also hugged Ios.

"Um, okay… this is weird…" Ios said.

"I thought I lost you guys!" Humphrey said.

Humphrey then remembered all the things that happened to him. He looked over himself, the cuts and bruises were gone, he didn't feel the pain in his neck anymore, and the mental pain was gone, replaced by pure joy. He almost completely forgot about Kate.

"What happened?" Humphrey asked Grace and Ios.

"Nothing happened actually, when Ios and I woke up, a very special friend of yours explained everything that happened." Grace explained.

"A special friend?" Humphrey asked, tilting his head.

"Don't tell me that you've forgotten about me already?" A female's voice called.

Grace and Ios moved to un-obscure Humphrey's view of his so called, special friend.

Humphrey looked at the wolf, as he grinned from ear to ear.

The wolf's fur glowed its soft golden color, the wolf's amber eyes, kind and caring as ever. She looked like an angel, majestic and standing proud, her body bright and strong. Her face held a smirking expression, as the wolf couldn't help but smile.

"Kate!"


	12. Chapter 12 Telling of Secrets

"Kate!" Humphrey couldn't believe it; he thought he'd be dead. Is he dead? No, everything looks normal, the trees, the grass, the birds chirping, and the wind.

"Is this real?" Humphrey had seen Kate for the first time alive since he left her… but it didn't make any sense.

"Why don't you tell me if this is real." Kate walked over to Humphrey and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Well… now that you mention it… I didn't really catch that one." Humphrey smiling a goofy smile.

"Maybe you'll catch this." Kate placed her lips on Humphrey's in a long passionate kiss.

When it ended, Humphrey was in a daze. "Oh yeah, that did it…"

Kate giggled and smiled at him.

This was it, now or never, Humphrey was going to do it; He was going to tell Kate how he felt about her.

"Kate… I love you."

"I know Humphrey, and I love you."

Kate and Humphrey then rubbed their noses together.

"Now, when will you two get married?" Ios interrupted the moment.

Humphrey and Kate turned their attention to Ios and Grace.

"Heh heh, I'll take care of it." Grace hit Ios on the head.

"OW!" Ios yelped, rubbing his head with a paw while glaring at Grace.

Humphrey and Kate laughed.

"This is the happiest day of my life, Kate." Humphrey said, turning his attention back to Kate.

"Mine to, Humphrey."

"I'm sorry I left, I never thought it would cause so many problems." Humphrey bowed his head.

"It was my fault Humphrey. You left because I was marrying Garth."

"Which reminds me, what happened when I was gone?" Humphrey asked.

"Well, I DIDN'T marry Garth, he married Lilly instead."

"Really? I would have never put two and two together."

"A heard of caribou interrupted a fight between the packs. My dad and Tony were caught in a caribou stamped; I jumped in to save them and was trampled."

"You weren't hurt badly were you?" Humphrey asked worriedly.

"I was pretty banged up, but nothing serious. After that I tried to find you." Kate finished.

"Is that why you ended up all the way out here?" Humphrey asked.

"Mhmm, Marcel and Paddy came with me, but they must have gone back. I don't know if they found me… you know… when I wasn't alive. But we should get back to Jasper as soon as possible."

"What about Grace and Ios dying? What was all that I went through?" Humphrey asked.

"It was a dream, more of a nightmare, but it was to test all of you. I don't know why it chose us Humphrey, but it did." Kate replied.

"Who is it?" Humphrey asked.

"Have you heard a male's voice by any chance?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, he told me how to save you, by jumping off of a freaking water fall."

"That's who 'it' is." Kate replied.

"And what were we chosen for?" Humphrey asked.

"To be together."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." He nuzzled her.

Kate then turned her attention to Grace and Ios.

"I have met your friends, but I don't know anything about them, care to explain how you all met?" Kate asked, looking at Grace and Ios.

"I met Ios when humans captured me, together we escaped them. Then we found Grace, stalking us." Humphrey chuckled.

**#**"I wasn't stalking! You guys were just in my way." Grace snapped, hiding the real reason even further.

"If you say so." Ios rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, after finding out that we were all lone wolves, we started to get along and became great friends." Humphrey finished.

"Hopefully not to friendly." Kate raised an eyebrow at Grace.

"I would never…" Grace looked away.

Little did Kate know that Grace had an infatuation for Humphrey.

"I'm just kidding Grace." Kate joked.

"Ah, some of me rubbed off on you!" Humphrey laughed.

Everything was going back to being normal; Humphrey was his old self again now that he was with Kate. All they had to do now was make it back to Jasper.

_A few hours later…_

Humphrey, Kate, Grace, and Ios were all lying down under a tree for shade, talking about themselves. Everyone was laughing and having a good time, since Humphrey was making all the jokes. Grace told her life story to Kate, gaining Kate's sympathy and respect.

"Were you an alpha in your old pack?" Kate asked Grace.

"Yeah, just came out of alpha school too." Grace replied.

"I could ask my dad to let you in as an alpha, we could use another hunter." Kate told her.

"That would be great, thank you." Grace said.

"We just need to find out if Ios is an omega or an alpha." Kate said.

"It doesn't matter to me, I just do whatever." Ios replied.

"How can you know your name when you don't remember anything?" Kate asked.

"I don't know, I just felt that it suited me." Ios answered.

Kate was snuggled up next to Humphrey.

Grace needed to let Kate know something about her.

"Kate, can I speak with you… alone?" Grace asked.

"Okay." Kate got up, leaving Humphrey and Ios under the tree.

_A silent walk later..._

Kate and Grace walked together. "Kate, there's something you need to know." Grace began.

Kate nodded as she sat down.

"When Humphrey saw your body, he was devastated. And over the time that he and I have spent together as friends, I couldn't see him in that state. So I tried to make him happy…" Grace began.

"What kind of happy?" Kate asked with concern.

"In a 'together' sort of way…" Grace told her, trying to avoid looking Kate in the eyes. "But I didn't know you would come back."

"Did you two… do it?' Kate asked; If Grace said yes, she'd rip her apart.

"No, heavens no! I just like the guy and I hate to see him down like he was."

"Well as long as you're honest, then no harm done." Kate let Grace know that they were still friends.

Grace sighed. "I just thought there was a chance that maybe I could be with someone. I know alphas and omegas aren't allowed to be together, but that rule doesn't go for lone wolves."

"Grace, you are a beautiful alpha wolf, there's no denying that. There's someone out there for you." Kate said.

"I know, but I just want someone who loves me for me, not because I look pretty." Grace plopped to the ground. "And Humphrey showed that to me, he showed that he cared.

"What about Ios?" Kate asked.

"Ios? What about him? I see him like a friend. He doesn't seem like the type." Grace told Kate.

"Yeah, I noticed that too. Perhaps when we get back into Jasper, I can introduce you to a few friends of mine." Kate suggested.

"They'll just trip over themselves looking at me." Grace rolled her eyes at the thought.

"Maybe not…hmm." Kate started to think, what if Grace's beauty was brought down a few notches.

Kate tussled Grace's hair, making it look raggedy and messy, causing it to hide her green eyes.

"What are you doing?" Grace demanded.

"Making you look less attractive to the males." Kate said to her. She pawed some dirt from the ground and rubbed it into Grace's fur, making it look dirtier and darker than it really was.

"Ohhh, now I get it." Grace rolled around in the dirt, getting her fur messy, dirty, and dusty.

"There, now you look like an omega." Kate told her.

Grace looked like one all right. Dirty, messy, she even looked like she was care free.

Grace looked into a small puddle, seeing her reflection.

"That's me?" Grace asked.

"Yup, what do you think?" Kate asked.

"I think it will surprise Ios and Humphrey." The new and unimproved Grace replied.

"Oh, and the alpha and omega rule of not being together doesn't apply in my pack."

_Meanwhile…_

"So what do you think about Kate, Ios?" Humphrey asked.

"You are the luckiest dog that I've ever met, if I've even met any before." Ios answered.

"She's the greatest thing that's ever happened to me." Humphrey said, laying his head on the ground.

A silence came between them.

"Hey Ios, have you ever log sledded before?" Humphrey asked, breaking the silence.

"I don't think I have since I don't even know what it is." Ios replied sarcastically.

"You are in for it when we get to Jasper; we are so going to sled with Shakey, Salty, and Mooch." Humphrey told him.

"Sure bro, and while you're at it, why don't I teach you some cool moves?" Ios suggested.

"Like what?" Humphrey asked.

"Fighting, hunting, stuff like that, so you can be well rounded as an omega, and maybe an alpha." Ios told him.

"That would be awesome." Humphrey replied.

After that, it was silence; Humphrey didn't very well like awkward silences. Usually because the questions he asked to break them were always more awkward.

"So… Ios… do you like Grace?" Humphrey asked out of no where.

"What? After getting to know her… a little, but more like a friend. Not in a romance way." Ios replied.

"How am I supposed to believe that you don't have a crush on her?' Humphrey raised a brow.

"Because you're supposed to believe your friends."

"Okay, well, are you even interested in a relationship?" Humphrey persisted.

**#**"Not really, I kind of like the lone wolf thing, and I was kind of hoping that my past would catch up to me, but maybe not." Ios replied. He remembered the so called 'dream' he and his friends had, the part when he was confronted with knowing about his past. It bothered him even more now that he had the chance to know about himself, looks like he'll have to do it the hard way or not do it at all.

"I wonder what Grace and Kate are doing…" Humphrey trailed off.

The crunching of leaves and rustling branches announced the arrival of Kate and Grace.

"What the heck?" Ios looked at Grace.

"Told you it would surprise them." Grace said to Kate.

"What happened?" Humphrey asked worriedly.

"Nothing, Grace wanted a make-over." Kate replied, cuddling next to Humphrey.

"Well it's… different." Ios said, looking Grace over. She was no longer as beautiful as she once was; she looked more like an omega.

"Yep, it's something I want to try." Grace told them.

"What exactly are you trying?" Ios asked.

"Being me." Grace answered.

"How is 'all of this' being you?" Ios asked, completely confused.

"You know how when you first saw me, you were probably thinking I was hot? Well now I'm not." Grace told Ios.

Ios still had the same confused look on his face.

"Ugh, never mind." Grace said.

_Hours later…_

The small pack of four wolves bedded down as the sun was getting lower, casting long shadows.

"We can get an early start for Jasper in the morning. Good night, handsome." Kate said to Humphrey.

"Good night, beautiful." Humphrey said back.

Ios shrugged and laid down at the base of a tree by himself, while Grace slept near a rock.

**xxxXXXxxx**

A stone still, grey alpha wolf was standing atop Howling Rock, were his daughter once stood, and cried.

He mourned for the lose of his daughter, after hearing the news a few days ago. He was sitting on the cold rocky surface, watching the valley. He couldn't believe the reality that his little girl was gone. Eve should have told him sooner, he knew he'd stop her from leaving and searching for Humphrey.

"Winston, you've been out here all night." He heard his wife say.

"Why would she throw her life away for someone like him?" Winston asked.

"She'd stop at nothing for love. You remember when you met me, right?"

Winston chuckled. "Don't remind me, I tried so many times to impress you, and some of those acts could have killed me." Winston replied.

"We can't dwell on her passing Winston, she did what she thought was right." Eve comforted as she sat beside her husband.

"It's hard for me to let go, Eve."

"I know, Winston."

The couple sat at the rock for a few minutes more before heading down to their den to turn in for the night.


	13. Chapter 13 Population Plus One

An early morning sun bathed the valley in a bright and warm light, waking some of its inhabitants. Some of which were a large combined pack of wolves that lives in that very valley.

In a den, a family of wolves slept. Winston, the great and proud gray wolf, was once the pack leader before renouncing his position to his daughter and new son-in-law, Lilly and Garth. Winston's mate, Eve, was sleeping beside him as he awoke to the sun peering into his den, which was also considered the main den.

He stood up, being careful not to wake Eve, stepping outside of the den to soak in the sun's rays before starting the day.

Hearing news from Marcel and Paddy about his daughter's death had deeply hurt him; he was now trying to overcome the grief of Kate's passing. Eve was going through the same, but she understood that when it's time to go, you go. Lilly hadn't taken it well at all, young, and with a close emotional tie to her sister, she cried for her when she heard the news only a few days ago. Now Lilly just mopes around and stays with Garth, her mate.

Tony had also renounced his position when Lilly and Garth married, giving the two full leadership of the newly combined pack. Since the rules about alphas and omegas not allowed to be mates didn't apply anymore, things were a bit different. Alphas and Omegas were no longer seeing each other as different, but as equal. Alphas did the hunting and could defend the pack, yes, but Omegas could calm down any situation and had the best sense of humor… unlike the alpha's horrible jokes. Omegas started to learn how to hunt to the best of their abilities, and Alphas had gained a sense of humor that was still questionable.

Everyone in the packs had gotten along great, friendships grew, and everything was at peace, though there was still mistrust within the pack. The pack was saddened to hear of Kate's death, but those who hadn't known her very well, had moved on.

Winston saw many of the wolves moving about, waking up for another day. He sat for a while, making small talk with many of the wolves.

"Hi Dad." Winston heard the sweet voice of his daughter, Lilly, come from behind him.

"Yes Lilly, what is it?" He turned around.

"Hutch and Can-do want to walk around the valley to keep an eye on things. Should I let them?" Lilly asked her father.

"Sure Lilly, it's best to keep things safe around the pack." He replied.

"Okay, thanks Dad." She trotted back to the den. A few minutes later, Winston saw Hutch and Can-do heading for him.

"Good morning sir, how are you today?" Hutch greeted.

"I'm fine Hutch. I hear you two are going out to patrol the valley, good luck." He told them.

"Thank you sir." Can-do said as he and Hutch walked by.

Winston watched as the two walked away on their patrol. Garth and Lilly seemed to have things under control.

For him, life in the valley was sweet and sour.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Wake up sleeping beauty!" Humphrey heard Ios's voice clang through his ears, jolting his eyes awake glaring them at Ios.

Ios saw Humphrey's attitude in his eyes. "Jeesh, good morning sunshine." Ios spat jokingly.

"You're in a good mood today." Humphrey said irritatingly at Ios, not noticing that Grace and Kate were gone.

"Yup… for some reason I just am." Ios smiled.

Humphrey felt a cool breeze brushing against his left side where Kate was supposed to be. He looked over and saw that Grace was gone too. "Where are Kate and Grace?" Humphrey asked.

"They went to go get us some breakfast; they said that next time, we have to get them something to eat. I've decided to teach you some of those moves." Ios told Humphrey.

"Oh, cool." Humphrey stretched his body, getting rid of the stiffness.

_Meanwhile…_

A lone small caribou was standing in the middle of the forest; being separated from it's heard by a pair of wolves who were stalking it.

"I think it's tired now Grace, we should chase it closer to Ios and Humphrey unless we want to drag it all the way back." Kate suggested, hiding with Grace behind a tree.

"I'll spook it that way then." Grace said as she got in position to chase the caribou.

The animal looked around worriedly, breathing heavily from exhaustion. Suddenly, it saw a dusty red wolf jump out of a bush, running towards it.

"Boo!" Grace yelled as she went for the creature.

The caribou reared up and ran away from Grace, in the direction of Ios and Humphrey who were about half a mile away.

"Good job Grace; now to kill it." Kate appeased.

"Thanks. You want to do the honors?" Grace asked.

"I'll take it." Kate and Grace then ran after the caribou, tracking it until they felt it was close enough to Humphrey and Ios.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"No fair!" Garth yelled to Lilly playfully, after being found while playing hide and go seek.

"Spoil sport!" Lilly, a pure white wolf, yelled back.

"Bet you can't catch me!" Garth, a muscled red wolf, said, running around Lilly.

"Bet I can." Lilly challenged.

"You're on." Garth jogged away.

A surprised hit him as he was sent to the ground on his back with Lilly on top of him.

Lilly giggled. "I win!"

"Yes you do." Garth said, rubbing his nose against Lilly's.

When they stopped, Garth was still on the ground with Lilly on top of him.

"Uh… Lilly?"

"What…"

"Will you let me up?" Garth asked uncomfortably.

Lilly shook her head and smiled with her eyes staring seductively at him.

"Why not?" Garth asked, unable to avoid looking into her beautiful lavender eyes.

Lilly smiled. "Because I like it."

"Heh heh… Lilly, I don't think now is the best time…" Garth said to her.

"Doesn't mean I can't flirt with you." Lilly said back.

"How can I argue with you when you keep looking at me with those eyes?"

"You can't because you love me." Lilly replied, giggling.

"True, you are the only thing that makes me happy." Garth kissed Lilly.

"Garth, Lilly! Where are- oh… am I interrupting anything?" Hutch asked, intruding on Garth and Lilly's free time together.

Lilly sighed. "No Hutch, what is it?" Lilly let Garth up.

"There's an important matter that requires your attention." Hutch replied.

"How important is it?" Garth asked.

"Can-do and I found something that you two may need to take a look at." Hutch explained.

"Let's go, Garth."

"Ladies first." Garth replied.

Lilly smiled and walked past Garth to follow Hutch to see what the matter involved.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"There are many different ways to hunt prey. There's tracking, stalking, driving, and persistence hunting, those are the forms that I've come to use a lot. Wow, don't know how I know that, but I do." Ios was teaching Humphrey the basics in hunting.

"When do I get to learn those cool moves?" Humphrey wasn't paying any attention at all to Ios's lecture.

"Come on Humphrey, we can get to that after you learn these basic methods." Ios said, being annoyed by Humphrey's incompetence.

"Fine." Humphrey said.

"Alright, which one do you want to learn first?" Ios asked him.

"Start with tracking." Humphrey told him.

"Tracking is looking for anything that shows signs of prey being present in the area, such as a foot print or a scent. One of the hardest ways to hunt, but it pays off if you know where to look and what to look for." Ios explained.

"What about driving? That doesn't sound like hunting." Humphrey said.

"It actually has a lot to do with it. Imaging this, a small heard of caribou are eating in a field, two wolves are hiding in the tall grass. The wolves spook the caribou but don't hurt them; instead, they chase them, driving them to a larger pack of ten to twenty wolves waiting to strike. It's a dangerous way to hunt since it's usually more than one target being attacked. Not to mention hectic, and someone could get hurt, or worse, killed."

"Okay… I think I know what stalking is. You quietly hunt your prey without letting it know you're there until it's too late, right?" Humphrey asked.

"Right, although, you have to be very quiet to get in close to your prey without scaring them. So unless you're quiet enough to do that, then it's not for you." Ios replied.

"What about persistence? I've never heard of that." Humphrey asked.

"It's when you use stalking and tracking together, you follow your prey until it wears itself out to exhaustion, making it easier for you to take it down without over exerting yourself. The easiest form of hunting, but the slowest if you get a caribou that can run for ever." Ios replied.

"Can I learn those moves now?" Humphrey asked impatiently.

"Yes, you can learn the moves now." Ios rolled his eyes at Humphrey.

"Awesome."

"Okay, now do what I do."

_Meanwhile…_

"It's still running Kate! What do we do!" Grace yelled out to Kate while chasing the caribou.

"We have to take it down before it reaches Humphrey and Ios!" Kate ran faster to catch up to the caribou.

Grace followed her, keeping up with her. By now, they were only a minute or two from reaching Humphrey and Ios. If the caribou got there before they did, it might hit Ios or Humphrey. Grace and Kate didn't want to chance it, so they went ahead and got on either side of the caribou, getting ready to take it down.

"Alright Grace, in three more strides, we take it down!" Kate yelled over to Grace.

Grace counted her strides in her head. _"One, two… three!"_

Kate and Grace jumped at the same time, gripping onto the frightened creature with their teeth and claws.

The caribou bugled into the air in pain as the wolves clung to its thick hide.

Kate pushed herself forward towards the caribou's neck, sinking her teeth into it, severing arteries and muscle tissue with her sharp canines.

Grace did the same on the other side. The conjoined extensive wounds put the caribou down on the ground, dead.

Grace and Kate stood over their kill with triumph.

"Lets get this back to Ios and Humphrey, I'm starving." Kate said to Grace.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"What exactly is it that we need to see, Hutch?" Garth asked. He followed Lilly as they made their way to another part of the valley.

"It's an injured wolf, she's unconscious and she's not from our pack." Hutch answered.

"Another wolf?" Lilly asked.

"Yes, it looked like she was attacked by a bear." Hutch replied.

Where is she then?" Garth asked.

"Right around… here." Hutch led them to an area where a wolf was laying. Standing around the wolf were Can-do and her father, Winston.

"It's good you're here, what do we do?" Can-do asked Garth and Lilly.

"Where is she hurt?" Lilly asked her father.

"Upper midsection near her leg, left side, the cuts look deep." Winston answered.

Lilly and Garth inspected the wolf. Her features were feminine, her back, top of her tail, and the top of her head were a dark dust blue while the rest of her body was pure white. She had a gentle and beautiful complexion; she didn't really seem like the fighting type, but the large gashes in her side just below her left foreleg showed differently, they were too close together to be made by a bear… these were the claw marks of another wolf.

"Should we take her back to the den?" Lilly asked her father.

"Garth, do you agree with that?" Winston asked Garth.

"Yes sir." He said respectfully.

"Alright, let's get her to the den. Try not to make her wounds worse, or we might have a problem." Winston warned.

Hutch and Can-do helped Winston put the female wolf on top of Garth, and then proceeded to carry her back to the pack.

While walking, Garth was ahead of Hutch, Can-do and Winston, which gave the chance for Lilly to talk to Garth alone.

"Hey Garth." Lilly greeted.

"Hey Lilly. I wonder why this wolf is in our territory." Garth wondered.

"Running from something?" Lilly thought.

"Looking at the cuts on her side, something attacked her, but if she was attacked, how could she get away? She doesn't look like she could fight, much less run away after being hit with an injury like that."

"Kind of like me, you didn't know I can take you down so fast." Lilly said sweetly.

"You are a bundle of surprises, that's for sure." Garth replied.

"Yup." Lilly giggled, kissing Garth on the cheek.

Winston, who was watching behind them, shook his head and smiled at them, they were an odd couple, but they somehow matched perfectly.

"Sir, I haven't had the chance to say it yet, but I'm sorry about what happened to Kate." Hutch told Winston.

"Thank you Hutch, it's been hard, but I feel like she did what she needed to." Winston replied.

"How's Eve?" Hutch asked.

"She's taking it better than I have. What about you, you were with Kate in alpha school; you were close to her too." Winston asked.

"I'm fine sir, Kate will be missed." Hutch answered.

Silence between the two marked the end of their conversation.

"Hey Garth, How's Tony?" Winston asked the red wolf ahead of him who was romancing with his daughter.

"Oh uh… he's fine sir, he's doing well." Garth nervously answered. Winston chuckled.

"He's just trying to keep you on your toes, Garth." Lilly said.

"Fine with me, as long as I can stay with you." Garth answered.

"You're so sweet, I'm glad we're together." Lilly rubbed the side of her head with his.

"I'm glad we are too." Garth hadn't asked Lilly about Kate yet because he thought she might cry again… now was as good a time as ever, he didn't want Lilly to keep her emotions inside.

"Lilly, how are you feeling about what happened to Kate?"

Lilly's expression changed from happy to sad. "Better than yesterday." She answered.

"Pretty soon, things will be back to normal, you'll see." Garth pecked her on the cheek.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Great job Humphrey! You've finally got it down." Ios congratulated Humphrey on a job well done. Ios had taught him a few things that he'd need to hunt and fight. The most was how to do a back flip and front flip, and how to pounce correctly.

"This is so cool! I didn't even know I could do this!" Humphrey ran for a tree and ran halfway up its trunk, pushing off of it and doing a back flip to the ground.

"You're going to impress Kate with those moves, believe me." Ios told him.

"Ios, I have a question… Where did you learn all of these moves?" Humphrey curiously asked.

"How did you learn them so fast?" Ios asked back.

"Good point…" Humphrey rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, we should start looking for the girls now; they've been gone for more than an hour." Ios said.

"No need, we're right here!" A muffled voice called out, and then the sound of rustling leaves.

"A little help guys." Another voice called out, sounded like Kate's.

"Come on Ios." Humphrey and Ios saw Kate and Grace dragging a caribou carcass with them by their teeth.

Ios and Humphrey helped them pull the carcass back under the tree that they had been sleeping under, their temporary home.

"How did you two take this thing down?" Humphrey asked.

"Wasn't easy, we had to wear it out before we could even touch it." Kate answered.

"Guess who's hunting for us next time." Grace smiled sweetly while looking at Ios and Humphrey.

"I'm ready, Ios taught me some tricks."

"Oh really." Kate said. "Sit." She commanded.

Humphrey sat on the ground. "Not funny." Ios and Grace laughed.

"Roll over." Kate commanded.

"You might have to teach me that one, later." Humphrey grinned slyly.

Kate smiled back at him. "How about I teach you to-"

"Please, you two, can we just eat?" Ios interrupted.

Humphrey winked at Kate. "I know what I wanna-"

"Please!" Ios interrupted further.

Grace rolled her eyes and sighed, hitting Ios on the head again. He rubbed his head with a paw, glaring at Grace.

"I'm sick and tired of you doing that to me." Ios complained.

"Get over it, let's eat!" Grace told everyone.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Oh good heavens, what happened?" Eve asked, seeing a wounded blue and white wolf being carried on Garth.

"We don't know exactly, she isn't part of our pack, but she needs some help." Lilly told her mother.

"Bring her in here; I'll see what I can do. Lilly, you can help too." Eve said.

Garth and Lilly followed Eve into the main den, later Garth walked out.

"Alright Lilly, today I'm going to teach you how to heal and its techniques." Eve told her daughter who was looking at the injured blue and white wolf.

"Okay." Lilly said cheerfully.

"First, we need to stop the bleeding, okay dear? Put your paws on the wound."

Lilly put her paws on the wolf's wound; blood seeped out onto Lilly's paws.

"Yuck."

"Alright, keep your paws there; I'm going to tell Winston what we need to help her." Eve told her daughter.

"Okay, mother." Lilly watched her mother leave the den.

She suddenly felt the wolf beneath her paws stir. "Uh oh."


	14. Chapter 14 Sticks and Stones

Bones lay upon the ground in a crumpled heap. A small group of wolves had just finished breakfast and were on their way to Jasper. All of them were walking together, taking their time, enjoying the scenery and talking with each other in the late morning sun.

"I still can't get over your new look." Ios said to Grace.

"Yeah, well get used to it, I like it." Grace replied.

"But it's…"

"Not attractive? Duh." Grace said.

"Yeah, that. I don't get that part." Ios said.

"You still like me as a friend, right?" Grace asked him.

Kate, who was walking with Humphrey ahead of Grace and Ios, raised a brow.

"Well, yeah." Ios replied.

"Then it works."

"You know what, forget I ever asked." Ios said.

"So what about you two love birds, anything you plan on doing when we hit Jasper?" Ios asked.

"Other than to be together… no, not really." Humphrey answered back.

"You know what I'm going to do when we get to Jasper?" Ios asked the three.

"What?" They all asked.

"Absolutely nothing." Ios replied.

"You are so full of it, you know that Ios?" Grace joked.

"Yep, I know."

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Uh oh." Lilly watched as the wolf opened her eyes.

"Mother! She's waking up!" Lilly yelled.

Eve came running into the den, along with Winston and Garth.

"Take your paw off of her Lilly." Eve told her daughter.

Lilly lifted her paw from the injured wolf's wound.

The female sat up and looked around her, seeing the faces of other wolves.

"Where am I?" The wolf asked, her voice was quiet and held an innocent pitch, but it somehow also held a mature and experienced tone.

"In Jasper Park." Lilly answered.

"Why have you trespassed on our territory?" Winston asked the wolf.

"I can't remember…" The wolf closed her eyes as she seemed to be thinking deeply about something.

"Can you tell us you're name?" Garth asked her.

"My name? My name is… Kelsa?" The wolf answered.

"Do you know where you came from?" Eve asked her.

Kelsa shook her head. She yelped in pain and flinched as she felt her wounds sting, whimpering as she put a paw on her injuries.

"Do you know what attacked you?" Winston asked her.

Kelsa's dark blue eyes suddenly widened as she recollected what happened to her.

_Flashback…_

"_Please Cerberus, don't kill me!" Kelsa screamed as she was hit and sent to the ground. _

_A large black wolf and its pack surrounded her. The large black wolf named Cerberus stood over her._

"_Tell me!" Cerberus demanded._

"_I don't know!" Kelsa cried._

"_Do you know how hard it is to find you all the way out here? How much effort we put in to track you down? I come all this way just to hear you say you don't know!" Cerberus growled at her; he raised a paw with its sharp long claws ready, bringing them down striking the left side of her rib cage just below her left leg, digging in deep. _

_Kelsa screamed out in pain. _

"_I'm going to let you live… for now. Run back to that pathetic dog you call family." _

_Kelsa stood up and limped away._

_End Flashback…_

"I don't remember…" Kelsa said as she averted their gaze.

"She must be in shock." Eve explained.

"What should we do?" Lilly asked her father.

"It's up to you two." Winston decided that it was time to let the true pack leaders make the decisions.

"We can't let her leave in this condition, she'll die." Garth said.

Kelsa sat their in pain, listening to the four wolves' conversation. In truth, she knew what happened to her, everything in her past wasn't a mystery, but if she let them know about her, they'd push her out like a plague and she'll die if she didn't get help; in this state she couldn't hunt or take care of herself.

"We'll discuss this later, this wolf needs her sleep." Eve told the four.

Winston and Garth left the den, while Lilly and Eve stayed.

Kelsa looked at Lilly, a pure white wolf was uncommon where she came from.

Lilly saw Kelsa staring at her. "Hi."

Kelsa smiled the best she could through the pain.

"I think she's shy dear." Eve told her daughter.

"Ohh." Lilly walked up closer to Kelsa, staring at her face. "You have pretty eyes."

"Thank you, you do too." Kelsa smiled, feeling more comfortable.

"Lilly dear, we need to help her; otherwise her injuries could get infected." Eve told Lilly.

"Okay, mother."

_Meanwhile…_

"Oh, hello Marcel and Paddy, where have you two been?" Winston greeted the birds.

"Hello sir, we've been out playing some golf. Watching Marcel here being off of his game." Paddy said.

"Paddy! Those foxes took the ball! How was I supposed to know that the hole was a fox den?" Marcel argued.

"Sounds like you've had fun." Garth said, sitting down beside Winston.

"You missed a new arrival." Winston said.

"Oh? Who?" Marcel asked.

"An injured wolf named Kelsa was found in the forest. We brought her here so she could be taken care of." Garth told them.

"We'll have to meet her sometime, but until then, I'm going to go dig a new hole somewhere else… bloody foxes…" Marcel grumbled. Paddy followed Marcel.

"Garth, I think you should put the alphas on alert, what ever hurt Kelsa could be out here somewhere." Winston told Garth.

"Yes sir, I'll get on that right away."

Garth left Winston alone, leaving him to sit and contemplate on the day.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Are we there yet?" Ios was getting impatient and being a nuisance just for fun.

"Nope, not there yet." Kate replied.

Ios sighed. "Well… are we there… yet?" Ios asked again.

"No, I'll tell you when we're almost there." Kate answered.

Ios was quiet for a few seconds. "Okay… are… we… there-"

Grace raised a paw and hit Ios on the head.

"OW! You know what!" Ios raised his own paw to hit Grace on the head… but couldn't do it. "You're lucky I don't hit girls without more of a reason."

"I think it's because you're afraid what will happen to you if you did." Grace snobbishly said back.

"Do you remember our fight? I won." Ios told her.

"Then I want a rematch." Grace said to Ios.

"You're on!"

"Knock it off you two, you can do that once we reach Jasper, but we need to keep moving." Kate said to them.

"I can't tell if Ios has a crush on Grace or not." Humphrey whispered to Kate.

"From what I can tell, he doesn't, it's either the truth, or he's good at hiding his feelings. Grace is the same way too." Kate whispered back.

A silence fell between the group for a few minutes.

"Do you think we'd get there faster if we find a train?" Humphrey asked Kate.

"If we could find one going to Jasper, jump on it at just the right time and not get caught… yeah." Kate replied.

"Hey guys, you want to board a train?" Humphrey asked Ios and Grace behind him.

"Um, okay?" Grace replied.

"I'll go." Ios answered.

"They agree, what's there to lose? We have each other, that's all I need." Humphrey smiled.

"Okay, if we keep walking this way, I think we'll reach the train tracks, and then we can try to find a train." Kate replied.

"Great! I'm tired of walking." Ios said.

"You're the laziest wolf I've ever met, Ios." Grace said.

"No, I just don't want to get tired in case I have to protect you guys from a bear or something." Ios said.

"I saw Kate go up against three bears before." Humphrey bragged.

"With your help, Humphrey." Kate interjected.

"True, but I was there as a decoy, they threw me around mostly." Humphrey chuckled.

"We escaped though, we didn't take them down." Kate said.

"Yup, and we landed right in the train just in time too." Humphrey said.

"I'd like to see that; how can someone like you take on three bears?" Ios asked Kate.

"Easy, my parents trained me non stop when I was in alpha school, they say I'm the best they've trained." Kate replied.

"We'll see about that." Ios said under his breath.

"Was that a challenge Ios?" Kate asked.

"Maybe…" Ios mumbled.

Kate stopped and jumped in the air, doing a back flip and landing on top of Ios, causing him to crumple to the ground with her paws on his back holding him down.

"Oh wow… You just got taken down by a girl!" Humphrey laughed.

Kate got off of Ios and helped him up.

"I wasn't ready…" Ios said.

"Are you ready now?' Kate asked.

Ios got into a stance. "Oh yeah."

Kate used on paw to knock his fore legs out from under him, causing him to fall forward.

"This is too good!" Humphrey was having a good time. Grace started laughing with him.

Suddenly, Ios stopped thinking and let his actions speak. He used his rear legs to push himself upward, doing a front flip. He spun around and pushed Kate down in under a split second, moving very fast, pinning her on back with his paw on her neck, choking her.

"Oh… heh heh, sorry Kate, got carried away…" Ios lifted his paw from her neck.

Humphrey and Grace's jaws dropped.

"What was that?" Kate asked, getting up.

"Instinct?" Ios held a puzzled look.

"I don't think so, instinct is breathing and blinking, who taught you how to do that?" Kate asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine Kate." Ios shrugged.

"And you moved so fast I couldn't even see you!" Humphrey said out loud.

Grace stood by quietly, thinking about what just happened.

"You're just one big mystery." Kate said.

"I guess I am, I didn't even know I could do that." Ios said.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Alright, there we go." Eve said, after cleaning Kelsa's wounds with some water and a special blend of herbs. "It shouldn't get in infected as long as you don't get anything in it." Eve told Kelsa.

"Thank you." Kelsa replied.

"No problem dear." Eve said.

"Hey Kelsa, do you want me to show you around Jasper?" Lilly asked with enthusiasm.

Kelsa thought about it for a second, then nodded and smiled as she followed Lilly out of the den, limping as she did so.

"Be careful with her Lilly." Eve called out from the entrance of the den.

"I'll look after her mom." Lilly said.


	15. Chapter 15 Another Victim

"And that over there is Howling Rock; all of the wolves go there with their partners to howl together." Lilly was guiding Kelsa through Jasper, giving her a tour.

"Do have a boyfriend?" Lilly looked at Kelsa.

Kelsa shook her head.

"What about a family? A mom or dad? Lilly asked.

Kelsa shook her head. She lied, she did have a family, but she was too ashamed and scared to tell Lilly about what happened.

"Aw… You can be in our family; we always have room for another wolf in our pack." Lilly told her.

"That would be nice." Kelsa said. She started to feel more pain coming from her side.

Lilly saw her wince. "We should get back, you need some sleep." Lilly and Kelsa started off for the den so Kelsa could sleep the afternoon away.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"I'm starting to get hungry…" Kate said to Humphrey.

"Maybe we should find something to eat before we get on a train." Humphrey suggested.

"And guess who's doing the hunting boys, have fun." Grace smiled and walked away with Kate, finding a tree to rest under.

Humphrey ran over and kissed Kate. "Bye sweet heart, love you."

"I love you too Humphrey." Kate smiled as she watched Ios and Humphrey walk away.

"Ugh, just great." Ios complained.

"It isn't that bad, I'm actually kind of excited." Humphrey said.

"Well yeah, it's your first hunt."

"Still, we did agree to hunt for the girls since they hunted for us this morning…" Humphrey trailed off.

"Yeah, but that was nothing but a small caribou." Ios said.

"Still, they went out of their way to get it." Humphrey said.

"Let's go find something then." Ios sighed.

**xxxXXXxxx**

Somewhere deep in a dense part of a forest, a pack of wolves lay, sleeping and resting from the midday sun.

The pack was the pack of Cerberus, a middle aged intimidating massive black wolf with blood red eyes and an angry disposition full of evil intentions. The rest of his small pack, like him, were all a pitch black color, although, they were distinguishable by their eyes, size, voices, and personalities.

A small young wolf named Argos also had red eyes like Cerberus; Argos wasn't much into hunting or fighting but he could handle himself when he needed to. He had sleek black fur that was finely groomed; he also had a charismatic voice and disposition, he was also very manipulative on the weak minded.

Garmr, who was a young large, heavy set black furred wolf with light green eyes, he was a lazy and angry wolf with a short temper. His voice was low toned and scary. He was a wall of a tank, outweighing even Cerberus.

Fenrir was the oldest second to Cerberus. Fenrir was wise; his light blue eyes showed that; he kept the others in line as to keep order with his calming voice. He was also the father of Skoll and Hati. His proud, tall, and thin stature stood over all of the other wolves, except for Cerberus. Fenrir held a scar across his face from a past fight a long time ago, the fight he lost his mate in.

Skoll was a devilishly small young wolf, fast, quick and deadly, he had fangs that had grown from his mouth longer than they should have been, and yellow eyes; he hunted and loved to kill. He didn't maintain his fur as much as most others did. His father, Fenrir, always told him that killing without a reason leads to a road of pain and hate, but he didn't care. He did however care which son got the most attention from his father. Noticing that Fenrir favored Hati, he did all he could to impress his father, but it usually only ended up in either embarrassment or shame for himself.

Hati didn't have the blood lust and joy in killing as his brother did, he mainly stood by quietly; keeping watch over the others with the blue eyes he inherited from his father. He didn't care for hunting; he was more of a dreamer and strategist, which made his father proud. Someday he may even be the leader of his own pack.

Gytrash and Gwyllgi were brothers who looked exactly the same; the only way they could be distinguished was from their voices and dispositions. They both were medium sized wolves with scruffy fur and a stocky muscled build, dark green eyes. Gytrash had a talkative, irritatingly high pitched voice and an annoying personality, but Gwyllgi, with his strict and angry personality and his low monotone voice, kept his brother in line.

Barghest was one of the members who was not like the others; he was the only one who had a dark gray underbelly and dark purple eyes. He kept to himself mostly, rarely letting his mature voice be heard, laying about and doing what ever Cerberus had him do. But this wolf was dangerous; able to rip another wolf's throat out before it could even sneeze. Cerberus found him invaluable as a scout; Barghest's agility gave the pack a great stealth asset as his young body was flexible and perfect for moving around quietly. Barghest never questioned what Cerberus had him do, if it meant to kill one of his fellow pack brothers, it didn't matter, mainly because Barghest never saw himself a part of Cerberus's pack.

These wolves were all brothers in a freelance pack, doing whatever they wanted to do, wandering around in search for food and other packs to war with, and lately, to settle a score.

All of the wolves were present except for one, Barghest. Cerberus had sent him out on a task to track down a weak little wolf that he had injured only a few days ago, Barghest was to provide aid if she was near death and without help, he needed her alive. The rest of the pack had bedded down in the shade from the sun which overheated them faster than other wolves because of their pitch black fur.

"I'm soooo bored." Gytrash groaned while rolling over, hitting his brother.

"Don't start this again." Gwyllgi complained.

"Could you two shut up! It's hard enough not getting any sleep at night with you two snoring like old caribou!" Skoll argued.

Garmr growled, dangerously irritated.

"Soooooo bored." Gytrash flashed a sly grin.

"That's it, you're going down." Skoll spat.

"I already am, idiot!" Gytrash laughed on the ground.

"Skoll, back off." His father interrupted.

"Yes father…" Skoll went to laying back down.

"Why can't we all get along? Tolerate one another and things can be so much easier." Fenrir told the four wolves lying on the ground.

"Where's Hati, I haven't seen him all day?" Skoll asked his father.

"He and Argos are talking with Cerberus." Fenrir replied.

"I always knew he was a suck up…" Skoll said under his breath.

"You should be happy for your brother Skoll; he's doing quite well for himself." Fenrir suggested.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Skoll curled up and closed his yellow eyes to go to sleep.

Fenrir walked back around to see what Argos, Hati, and Cerberus were doing.

"No sir, I think using these three to draw the enemies attention will prove beneficial to Barghest and Skoll if they can get in to flank… Oh, hello father." Hati greeted to Fenrir.

"Don't mind me, I'm just here to listen." Fenrir said.

"What about Garmr and his team's flank? They're exposed… unless… We could use Argos, you, and I to spring a trap for anyone who comes near." Cerberus stated.

"Exactly sir." Hati said.

Fenrir smiled, his son was moving up in the packs social structure quickly, how could he ask for more in a son?

"Wait, wait…wait… What if the enemy were to have a trap too?" Argos asked.

"My father can take care of that. If he can spring their trap carefully and then let those wolves chase him to our trap, then we win due to out numbering the enemy." Hati said.

"An excellent strategy, but when will we need it?" Cerberus asked.

"When ever we go up against another small pack who uses guerrilla tactics and traps." Hati replied.

"I think it's a shot in the dark sir, but well planned." Argos said.

"We'll see when Barghest reports back. If anything I believe Kelsa has found a pack to help her." Cerberus said.

_Meanwhile…_

A black wolf was crouched beneath a bush, hiding from all of the other wolves walking around.

"There you are…" He saw with his dark purple the white and dark blue wolf he was told to search for. She was limping to a large den in the middle of all of the others on the other side of a tree trunk that had fallen to make a bridge over a small ravine.

Barghest had found a very large pack in a valley with plenty of caribou to last them for many generations.

And this is where Kelsa had found herself.

Barghest was going to have to report back to Cerberus about this, he knew for sure that they wouldn't be able to make a full attack on this pack; they were too large and organized.

Barghest started sneaking his way out, crawling slowly from the bush, careful not to spread his scent.

"Did you see that over there?" Barghest heard a wolf say in the distance.

"What? Where?" He heard another reply.

"_Damn it Barghest, you moved too fast!"_ He thought.

"Come on, let's go check it out." One of the wolves said.

Barghest moved away into the shadow of the bush, hoping his black fur would keep him from being seen against the dark ground. He closed his eyes as they walked up on him.

"It was right here, I swear it."

"Well what ever it was, it's gone now. Could be your mind playing tricks on you, go get something to eat, cool down."

"Alright."

The two wolves walked away leaving Barghest undiscovered.

"_Phew. You two were lucky." _He thought as he moved slowly into the shadows of the forest to escape the valley to his pack.

**xxxXXXxxx**

Kelsa was walking back to the main den alone since Lilly had to take care of some things with Garth. When she was walking, a scent touched her nose. It smelled familiar.

"_No… they couldn't have found me that fast, I've got to warn everyone!"_ She thought. But she needed her rest, she wouldn't get far or last long if she left to save this pack from being destroyed, maybe she could give herself up, tell them she doesn't know where they are and die, sacrificing herself to save this pack; inside, she knew she couldn't do it.

"I'm such a coward." She cried in the den, alone.


	16. Chapter 16 Something New

"Alright Humphrey, you see that one right there?" Ios and Humphrey were hiding from two caribou that were grazing on the tall grass.

"Yeah, the big one right?" Humphrey whispered to Ios.

"Yes, that one. Now focus." Ios told him.

"Got it… okay, so what do you want me to do?" Humphrey asked.

"I just told you-… *sigh* I want you to sneak around and chase the caribou towards me, okay?" Ios asked.

"Yup, driving the caribou to you, here goes nothing." Humphrey whispered as he began to crawl around the caribou.

"It better be a nothing worth something." Ios whispered to himself.

Humphrey crawled slowly the best he could around to the other side of the caribou to get in position to spook them and chase them to Ios.

Ios couldn't tell if he was up for this or not, so many things could go wrong, he could get trampled, the caribou could see him and turn on Humphrey, they might not get anything; so many things were going through his mind.

Humphrey was ready to strike, but he couldn't tell if Ios was ready because he couldn't see him, so he jumped out of the tall grass, spooking both of the caribou straight for Ios.

"_Oh no." _Ios saw the caribou right in front of him, but just then, his mind went blank. In one swift motion, he jumped, grabbing the large caribou's neck with his teeth and using his forelegs to push away, ripping out a chunk of the caribou's neck causing it to die before it hit the ground.

Humphrey's jaw dropped, he had never seen a kill that quick.

Ios regained his thoughts and his composure as he looked over to Humphrey.

"What?" Ios asked.

"N-Nothii-ng" Humphrey stammered.

"Okay, lets get this back to the girls, the princesses are probably starving." Ios joked.

"Yeah…" Humphrey said, gripping the hide of the dead caribou with his teeth and helping Ios tug it.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Barghest, you're here, good, what news do you have?" Cerberus greeted.

Fenrir, Argos, and Hati were standing quiet and listening.

"She's found another pack that lives in a valley, she has taken refuge in one of their main dens. The pack out numbers ours, at least by forty." Barghest said.

"Hmm, what does the area look like?" Hati asked.

"We won't need any of your strategies Hati, I have my own." Barghest snapped.

Hati sat quietly at Barghest's outburst.

"Their pack has one weakness; the pack was once divided, east and west, then they were conjoined by each of the leaders agreeing for their children to marry and unite the packs. They still don't trust each other; all we need to do is set off a spark that will cause what trust they have to break, causing the pack to fight itself." Barghest explained, he put all the information together from what he heard sneaking around listening in on conversations back at the valley.

Cerberus turned to Argos. "I want you to go to this pack Argos, and infiltrate them. Find out how their structure works, especially the leaders, get to know them and find their weaknesses." Cerberus said.

"What about Kelsa, sir?" Argos asked.

"She'll keep quiet, she fears us and she's cowardly. She won't blow your cover." Cerberus reassured.

"Yes sir."

"And Barghest, I want you to keep an eye on Argos; keep me informed of what's happening, and do not be seen by anyone." Cerberus told Barghest.

"Yes sir." Barghest and Argos left to go on their assignment.

"This is somewhat good news." Cerberus said to Hati and Fenrir.

"We aren't really going to destroy another pack, are we sir?" Hati asked.

Cerberus grinned evilly. "We just might…"

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Kelsa? Why are you crying?" Lilly asked sympathetically, walking into the main den quietly.

Kelsa stopped, wiping away her tears, not expecting Lilly.

"Oh… I wasn't crying… I just had something in my eyes." Kelsa replied.

"It didn't look that way to me." Lilly said, lying down next to her.

Kelsa sniffled and laid her head on the ground.

"What wrong?" Lilly asked.

Kelsa shook her head.

"I won't tell anyone, secret safe with me." Lilly told her.

"I can't… I'm afraid." Kelsa said.

"Of what?" Lilly asked.

Kelsa started to tear up. "He's going to kill me…"

"Who is?" Lilly was concerned at this point.

"You can't tell anyone!" Kelsa demanded.

"I promise." Lilly said to her.

"Okay… You know the scratches on my side?" Kelsa asked.

Lilly nodded.

"He did that to me." Kelsa said.

"Who is he?" Lilly asked.

"Cerberus." Kelsa responded.

"Who's that?"

"He's a mean and evil wolf." Kelsa replied.

"What does he want with you?"

Kelsa shrugged. She knew, but she didn't want Lilly to know about that part.

"You're safe here though; we have a lot of alphas who protect us." Lilly comforted.

Kelsa half smiled; if she knew anything, they'd find a way.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"I'm tired of waiting, my stomach is killing me." Grace groaned.

Kate's stomach growled. "Ugh, mine too."

"I'm tired of carrying it, they're just going to have to drag it the rest of the way by themselves or eat it here." They heard Ios's voice come from somewhere in the forest.

"I'll go get them." It seemed like Humphrey's voice. The soon heard the crunching of leaves and then seeing Humphrey trotting towards them.

"We got a big one, we're too tired to carry it the rest of the way so you're going to have to eat it there. Come on."

"Lazy, lazy, lazy." Grace said under her breath.

"Why don't you take a look at it first before saying that again." Humphrey suggested as he led Kate and Grace to the carcass.

When they got there, Ios had already started eating.

"Hey guys, what took you so long?" Ios asked, raising his head from the belly of the carcass, speaking with a bloody mouth full.

"It actually is pretty big… wow." Grace said as she looked at the dead animal.

"Did you both kill it?" Kate asked.

"Nope, Ios did that, killed the thing before it even knew what hit it." Humphrey told her.

"I'm impressed." Kate said.

"Thank you." Ios went back to eating.

"We're not going to let Ios have it all are we? Come on." Grace said, running over to the kill to fill her grouchy stomach.

A few hours later they had finished their meal, some scraps and bones were all that were left on the ground. After the four wolves had finished cleaning themselves, they followed Kate with Humphrey walking beside her, who was heading for the train tracks. The sun was going down fast and they needed to find a train quickly.

"I'm tired…" Ios grumbled, walking last behind everyone else just because he felt like it.

"We can sleep on the train." Kate told him, leading the group.

"I could use a beauty sleep." Grace said.

"For what?" Ios laughed.

"Oh ha ha." Grace glared back at him.

"You set yourself up for that one, sorry. With you're new look I have to make jokes like that." Ios apologized.

"Maybe he's an omega…" Humphrey whispered to Kate.

"An alpha can't have a sense of humor?" Kate asked, raising a brow at Humphrey.

"From some of the jokes I've heard from other alphas… No." Humphrey answered.

Kate scoffed. "I bet I can make a joke just as easily as you could."

"Try me." Humphrey challenged.

"What did the alpha say to the omega?" Kate asked.

"I don't know, what?" Humphrey asked.

"TRAIN!" Kate yelled as her eyes suddenly widened.

"Train? That didn't make sense at all." Humphrey told her.

"No, Train!" She put a paw on his face and turned it toward a long convoy of train cars starting to go by.

"OH, that train… Let's go everyone." Kate and Humphrey led Ios and Grace to the train

"We need to find an open car!" Kate yelled out to Humphrey over the clanking of the train going over the tracks.

"Found it!" Humphrey yelled out to everyone, running as fast as he could and finally jumping into the green train car.

"I made it! Come on Kate, your turn!"

Kate got as close to the car as she could and then jumped in, accidentally landing on Humphrey, and tumbling into a crumpled head at one end of the car.

"You can go next Grace." Ios said to Grace.

Grace sprinted, siding up by the car and making her jump, landing a bit softer than Kate did.

"Alright Ios, your turn!" Grace peered out of the car to see Ios running right next to it; it was too late to move out of the way when he jumped. Grace braced for impact as Ios collided with her.

They tumbled to the other end of the train car, landing with Grace on top of Ios in an awkward position, the end of their muzzles touching.

"Ooo, ow…" Ios opened his eyes and made a short gasp when he saw how close they were together. The two stared at the each others eyes.

"_What do I do! Should I get off of him or stay and say nothing? Do I like him? Maybe I can just… no, no it isn't right, it's just wrong... but he's so..."_ Thoughts ran through Grace's head in that moment.

"_Why isn't she moving? Oh no, don't tell me this is one of those romance moments… wait, what if I like her? I'll just stay still until she makes a move, ugh, look at her, what was she thinking, she's hideous... but she's so..."_ Ios thought.

"Awkward." Humphrey whispered to Kate.

"Shhh." Kate smiled as she watched, cuddling next to Humphrey.

"You're on top… of me." Ios said.

"Yeah…" Grace trailed off, staring into his blue eyes.

Grace couldn't, it didn't seem like the right time and she wasn't sure of many different things. She got off of him and let him up.

Kate had a disappointed look on her face.

"They were so close." Humphrey whispered.

"How long is it to Jasper?" Ios asked Kate, he walked to the open door of the car.

"I don't know really, one of us is going to have to stay awake and keep an eye out." Kate said.

"I'll take first watch, just because I love you." Humphrey kissed Kate.

Kate and Grace laid down on one side of the car, opposite of the side Ios laid down on. "You're so lucky." Grace told her.

"Hey, maybe you should go and sleep by Ios." Kate nudged Grace.

"No way, I'm fine over here." Grace said.

"But he's over there all alone." Kate told her.

"Humphrey can keep him company." Grace said back.

"No, Humphrey is sleeping beside me when he's done on look out." Kate told her.

"Nope, I'm not doing it." Grace refused.

"Okay, I didn't say you had too, he just seemed sort of… lonely." Kate stated.

After that, Kate curled up and closed her eyes, leaving Grace to listen to her thoughts_._


	17. Chapter 17 Cries of More Troubles

Night fell on the valley. Most of the wolves were asleep except for one. Kelsa hadn't been able to sleep, she worried that one of the black wolves, which she fear for her life from, would walk inside the cave with her and end her life.

"I miss you sis." Kelsa sniffled in her sorrow.

Kelsa closed her eyes and cried quietly, as to not wake everyone else.

When she opened her eyes to look at the ground, she found in its place a black furred paw.

She looked up at the wolf and gasped.

The wolf clamped a paw around her muzzle.

"Shhh, you say anything, I'll kill you." She heard Argos whisper to her.

Kelsa nodded, her eyes filled with fear as she looked into his red eyes.

"Good girl." Argos whispered.

Argos made him self comfortable by lying down next to Kelsa and resting his eyes.

Kelsa didn't move a muscle, staying awake for as long as she could, unsure if she'd wake up in the morning.

**xxxXXXxxx**

Humphrey looked out of the train car at the passing trees and many other things. He started to feel dreadfully sleepy to the point where he couldn't take it anymore. He didn't want to wake Kate up, but she was the only one who knew what the area of Jasper looked like.

Humphrey walked over to where she was sleeping.

"_She gets more beautiful every time I see her."_ He couldn't help but smile at her sleeping form.

"Kate…. Kate wake up, it's your turn." Humphrey nudged Kate awake.

Kate yawned and sat up. "Alright Humphrey, get some sleep, we should reach Jasper in a few hours. I'll be able to see my family again after so many days being away from Jasper. And you know the best part?" Kate asked. Humphrey laid down.

"We're getting married, right?" Humphrey smiled.

"Uh huh." Kate smiled back at him.

"I can't wait." Humphrey yawned. He stared at Kate until his eye lids drooped down covering his sight and bring him to a deep sleep.

Kate watched as Humphrey feel asleep. She noticed something odd, Grace wasn't sleeping next to him, she was gone.

Kate turned her head to the sleeping Ios, and found Grace sleeping beside him with about a foot gap between them.

Kate shook her head slightly and grinned. _"They'd make a great couple."_

She went to watching the trees go by, looking out for signs of Jasper. All she could do was think about whatever came to mind. Her mind wandered off into daydreams.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Who exactly are you?" Winston asked the new arrival; a black wolf who arrived during the night, unannounced.

"My name is Argos, I didn't wish to wake anyone. I have been looking for my friend Kelsa here for a while, and seeing her hurt made my mind slip on some of the other important things such as announcing my arrival." Argos replied.

"A friend of Kelsa's? Is this true Kelsa?" Winston turned to look behind him where Kelsa had been sitting. Kelsa, who was staring at the ground, looked up. She saw Argos's eyes which scared her and caused her to say yes.

"Hmm." Winston sat quietly.

"Where did you come from?" Garth questioned.

"From a small pack in the north. We were attacked by other wolves and lost many of our own, when I found out that Kelsa had split from the pack in the attack, I ran after her and have been since this moment." Argos replied, a lie, but he made it sound like he could swear on his own species that it was true to the end, a sly and charming tongue gave him an advantage in conversation.

Kelsa could have spoken up; she could have told them that Argos was one of the wolves who were hunting her. Part of a pack that had destroyed many other innocent packs… but she feared what would happen if she did. What if the rest of Argos's pack was waiting at the tree line, ready to rip every wolf apart? She didn't want to take that chance.

"That's sweet of you to do." Eve said.

"I only care for her safety, ma'am." Argos replied.

"Hey… Does he like you or something?" Lilly whispered to Kelsa.

Kelsa looked at her and didn't respond, showing great fear in her eyes.

Lilly didn't notice it at first, but then she started to worry.

"Now if you will all excuse me, I must talk with Kelsa alone for a bit, just to catch up and talk privately." Argos said.

"Of course." Garth said.

"Come on Kelsa." Argos commanded. Kelsa stood up and quickly shuffled towards Argos following him to a secluded location.

When they left, Winston asked for Hutch to step forward.

"Hutch, I don't trust this wolf, follow them and see what he's up too." Winston said to Hutch.

"Yes sir." Hutch went off to follow Argos and Kelsa.

**xxxXXXxxx**

Before Kate knew it, a sign blew past the car, shooting a breeze of air in her face, breaking her from her subconscious daydreams.

She peered out of the door of the train car to read what she could of the sign.

"_Welcome to Jasper." _

Kate made her way over to Humphrey to wake him up.

"Come on Humphrey, we're in Jasper." Kate brushed his face with her paw.

"I'm up…." Humphrey mumbled. Kate took a claw and tickled his nose until he couldn't take it.

"Ah what? I'm up. Haha, that tickles." Humphrey chuckled.

"Help me wake up Grace and Ios." Kate said.

Humphrey saw Grace and Ios lying next to each other.

"Look who's the love birds now." Humphrey said loudly, causing Grace and Ios to jolt awake, closing the one foot gap and putting them against each other.

Ios saw Kate and Humphrey staring at him, but where was Grace? He looked to his side doing a double take after seeing Grace.

"Um… what are you doing over here?" Ios was still drowsy from a long sleep.

"You looked cold." Grace replied with a smile.

"Oh… thank you." Ios said to her.

"Let's jump off the train." Kate told everyone.

Ios and Grace got up and followed Kate and Humphrey to the door.

"All you have to do is jump in the opposite direction the train is going, that way you don't hit the ground too fast." Kate told Ios and Grace.

"Me first." Humphrey jumped out and landed. Kate followed closely behind. Then Grace jumped followed by Ios. All of the wolves gathered together and followed Kate to the valley.

"So what's this place like?" Grace asked.

"You'll love it, the pack is huge, and the valley is even bigger." Kate said to Grace.

"And lots of food if you know where to look, but I haven't been here in a long time. I can't wait to see my old friends again." Humphrey said.

"Sounds nice." Grace said.

"I need a nice quiet place; does Jasper have any of those? Ios asked.

"Sure, I'll show you a place that you might like." Kate replied.

"Great." Ios said.

Just then, a stone golf ball knocked Humphrey on the head.

"OW! Ahh, that hurt." Humphrey rubbed his head with a paw.

"What was that?" Grace asked.

"It's them." Kate smiled, looking around for any signs of a yellow duck or tan and green goose.

"Who's them?" Ios asked.

"Marcel and Paddy." Humphrey said.

"Hold on, I'll be right back." Kate ran through some thick bushes and disappeared. Later Humphrey, Grace, and Ios heard a surprised yell, a long silence, and then what sounded like crying and finally laughing.

Kate came back trough the bush a small time later, but with a yellow duck and a tan and green goose following her. They were all laughing and catching up on past events.

"Well I'm glad you are here with us Kate, the world just wasn't the same without you." Paddy said to Kate.

"You're family has not been well, but now that you're back, they'll be overjoyed." Marcel said.

Humphrey cleared his throat to remind Kate of his presence.

She looked over at him. "And look who else is here with me."

"Ah, Humphrey, glad to see you. We all thought we'd never see you again, glad to see you and Kate together." Paddy said to him.

"Good to see you guys too." Humphrey replied.

"I do not recognize the faces of these new wolves, who are they?" Marcel asked.

"This is Grace and Ios, they helped me and Kate get back together… in a way." Humphrey answered.

Grace and Ios smiled, it was a bit strange seeing a bird talking to them in a friendly manner instead of flying away out of fright.

"They aren't big fans of making us feathered creatures their dinner, right?' Paddy asked.

"Grace and Ios won't eat you guys." Humphrey chuckled.

"Hello." Grace greeted.

"Hey." Ios greeted.

"Hello to you too, we are pleased to meet you." Paddy greeted back.

"And we thank you for helping our friends make it back home." Marcel thanked.

"We just sort of… fell into it." Ios replied.

"Jasper has been getting many visitors lately, why we have two in the valley right now." Marcel said.

"Wolves?" Humphrey asked.

Paddy nodded.

"That's great, the more the better." Kate said.

"Well enough with the delay, lets get you all to the valley, everyone will be so pleased to see you two again." Marcel said to Kate and Humphrey.

The four wolves then followed the two birds to an entrance into the valley.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Stop here." Argos commanded to Kelsa. She didn't say anything. They stopped below a hill, beside a rock with a tree line a few meters away.

"Listen, I know it's hard to be you right now, but when Cerberus asks for you to find her, then you do as he says, the more you run and hide, the more pain comes to you." Argos began.

Unknown to them, a grey, black and white wolf was spying on the two, not being able to make out the words. Having orders from Winston, he did the best he could. He didn't see anything suspicious, but he needed to hear what they were saying.

He moved up slowly in the shadows of the trees.

What Hutch didn't know was that a pitch black shadow was moving behind him as silent as night. The wolf hit Hutch, knocking him to the ground unconscious.

"What was that?" Argos looked in the direction of the sound, later dismissing it as a folly by Barghest.

"Anyway, all you have to do is tell us where she is or lead us to her, and then we'll let you go free. It's not you we want, it's…"

Argos was interrupted by an intruding wolf walking down from the top of the hill, the pure white fur noticeable from a mile.

"Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't know you were here… I'll go." Lilly said.

"It's all right miss, we were done talking." Argos replied.

"If you don't mind Argos, I'd like to talk with you." Lilly said.

Lilly was one of the leaders of the pack, an easy source of information too.

"Let's take a walk then." Argos smiled.

Kelsa watched as Lilly and Argos left. Kelsa was in so much trouble.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"I think this pack is great, especially with you and your mate as its leaders, I've never seen a pack with two leaders before." Argos complemented.

In the shadows of the trees, Barghest left his friend, uninterested in the conversation Argos and Lilly were having. He decided to go and see what other things he could find out.

"Who is the leader of the pack you said you came from?" Lilly asked.

"Oh um…" Argos thought, Lilly wasn't going to be much of a threat, and plus she seemed easily swayed. This pack wouldn't be alive for much longer anyway.

"Cerberus, a great leader, he saved us from the bear attack." Argos replied.

"I thought you said you were attacked by other wolves?" Lilly asked. Then she realized, Cerberus was the wolf who had hurt Kelsa. _"I should tell dad."_ But she couldn't, she promised Kelsa not to tell anyone. _"But this could be important."_

"Oh… haha, silly me, they were wolves. See, I'm still shaken a bit by the attack." Argos saved quickly his faulty mistake.

"Kelsa looks that way too." Lilly said.

"_Phew." _Argos thought.

"I'm sorry to say this, but I have an important matter to attend to." Argos said, better to leave, this wolf was more than he thought.

"Okay." Lilly watched as Argos left.

Lilly thought to herself, if that wolf was part of the pack under the leadership of a wolf named Cerberus, then he was also one who is an enemy to Kelsa.

Lilly ran off to tell her father of what she had learned.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"And here we are." Marcel and the ones following him were walking into the den area of the valley, home to a large pack of wolves.

The wolves were minding their own business and doing menial tasks, but one by one, they started to look up at the small group of wolves who were following Marcel and Paddy.

Most of them had their eyes wide opened and jaws dropped.

"Humphrey?" Salty saw Humphrey from a distance. "Hey guys, it's Humphrey!" Shakey and Mooch sat up and looked in the direction Salty was, they all saw their old friend who had left the pack many month ago.

"Humphrey! Over here!" Shakey yelled out.

Humphrey saw them waving and jumping in the air, and soon everyone else was too.

All of the wolves went wild with celebration. Winston, Eve, Tony, and Garth were talking in the main den when they heard a loud commotion.

"What's going on?" Eve asked, standing up to walk out of the den with the other three wolves following her.

"Oh Winston, Kate's alive!" Eve cried tears of happiness and joy as she ran to her daughter. Winston quickly followed.

Meanwhile, Barghest was hiding in a bush, seeing everything that was happening. He noticed a black and white wolf standing amidst the crowd with a tan-ish red wolf he didn't recognize, looked as if she had rolled around in dirt. _"It can't be…"_

Grace and Ios had been left out of the celebration since they didn't know anyone. They stood by watching Humphrey and Kate being greeted by their friends and family.

Grace looked into the crowd; a dark blue colored wolf caught her eye.

Grace sprinted off in its direction, leaving Ios alone.

"Grace! Where are you going?" Ios yelled to her, but to no avail.

"Kelsa!" Grace screamed as she tackled the blue and white wolf.

"Grace!" Kelsa screamed back as she hugged Grace.

"I thought I'd never find you, sis!" Grace embraced her sister.

"I didn't recognize you." Kelsa said to her sister. Grace and Kelsa got up and hugged again.

Kelsa's mind suddenly went from joy to worry and dread.

"Grace, they're here, and they're looking for you. They think you killed him." Kelsa told her.

"Calm down Kelsa."

"No, I don't want to see you d-" Kelsa gasped as she noticed a black blur behind her sister's shoulder, seeing a black and white wolf.

"He's right there!" Kelsa yelled to her sister, hardly audible from all of the other wolves around them cheering and yelling.

Grace looked back, she totally forgot about Ios, if they found him and found out he didn't remember anything, then it would only add to her problems.

But she was too late, she saw the black wolf she knew as Argos approach Ios, Argos held a surprised but calm expression.

Ios looked down at the smaller wolf.

"Ios, glad to see you're still alive." The small black wolf said to him.

"Do I know you?" Ios asked.

"Quit joking Ios, you know me." Argos chuckled.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know who you are. And how do you know my name?" Ios replied.

"Oh I get it; you're on a secret mission." Argos winked at him

"Secret mission? What are you talking about?" Ios asked, the confusion in his eyes showed Argos that he knew nothing.

"You seriously don't remember me?" Argos asked.

Ios shook his head.

Argos turned and walked away. _"How can he not remember me? And how did he survive?"_

When Argos left, Grace ran over to Ios, Kelsa following closely, and hiding behind her sister.

"What did you tell him?" Grace demanded.

"What! I didn't say anything; he just acted like he knew me. What's wrong?" Ios asked.

"Everything just went from bad to worse." Grace shook her head.

"Hey… who's the cutie behind you?" Ios tried peered over Grace's shoulder to get a better look at the cowering blue and white wolf.

"It's okay Kelsa, he's not going to hurt you anymore." Grace said to her sister. Kelsa came out from behind her sister.

"Hello." Ios greeted.

"Hi." Kelsa greeted back.

"Is she a friend of yours?" Ios asked Grace.

"She's my sister."

"You have a sister?" Ios asked.

"I have some explaining to do. Kelsa, we need to play like we don't know each other." Grace said.

"Come on Ios, let's go find Kate and Humphrey, and stay away from the small black wolf from now on Ios. Oh, and Kelsa, lets try not to be together as much as we can, especially you and Ios. I'm sorry." Grace said.

"It's okay Grace, I understand." Kelsa hugged Grace and then left into the crowd.

"I don't understand, Grace, what does this have to do with me?" Ios asked.

Grace signed. "You're the reason why they're after me, they think I killed you_."_


	18. Chapter 18 The Effect of Cause

Argos snuck around in the darker parts of the forest in the valley. The sun was still above the horizon, just barely; giving the valley an orange tint in color.

"Barghest… psst, Barghest where are you?" Argos whispered.

"There is no need for caution, no one is near." Barghest stepped into Argos's view.

"Right… did you see him? He's alive." Argos said.

"Yes, I saw him." Barghest replied. Argos could have sworn he saw Barghest smile.

"He doesn't remember me though." Argos stated.

"What do you mean?" Barghest asked.

"He doesn't know who I am." Argos answered.

It was strange that Ios didn't know who Argos was; Barghest would need to talk to Ios.

"I'll find out why, you gather any more information you can. I'm going to go and tell Cerberus of the news." Barghest said.

Argos nodded and walked away.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Who's they! You aren't telling me anything!" Ios was getting frustrated, angry, and scared. _"Kill me? She killed me?"_

"Ios, I'll explain later, we need to go find Kate and Humphrey." Grace began to look around.

"No, I want to know what this is about!" Ios demanded.

Grace ignored him and started to look for Humphrey or Kate, or someone she knew.

Ios was furious, he felt a sudden hate for Grace, something he hadn't felt before.

"Don't walk away from me!" Ios yelled. He ran and knocked her down.

Grace got up quickly. "Ios!" He hit her again, this time tackling her to the ground and holding her down.

"Do not test me." Ios growled. Thoughts raged around in his mind, his past was beginning to show itself, blurred but noticeable, and it portrayed Grace as an enemy than a friend for a very strange reason, feeling the urge to kill.

Grace looked up at him with fear, struggling to get free from him, but he was just too strong.

The crowd around them had ignored their fight. They had been moving closer to the main den where Kate and Humphrey were greeting and being greeted by everyone.

Ios growled at Grace. "Stop Ios, please!" Grace felt something pierce her neck; Ios had put his claws to her neck and was putting pressure on them slowly.

Grace slapped Ios with her free paw in a final attempt to get him to stop, and it worked. Ios realized what he was doing and stopped and let Grace stand up. The wound on her neck was barely enough to cause her pain, but it was another pain that hurt her. The fact that Ios could kill caused her to fear for her life, and her sister's.

"Grace… I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me, I-"

"Don't apologize, this is all my fault." Grace walked away.

Ios couldn't do anything but follow the one he attempted to kill.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Uh… ow my head." Hutch was regaining consciousness. He was still in the area he last remembered, but the two wolves he was set out to spy on were long gone.

He couldn't find out what had happened to him, he just felt a pain on the top of his head behind his ear when he touched it. It couldn't have been a rock, or anything else; it would have been near him. He smelled a faint scent that he didn't recognize, and there were imprints on the grass around him, some of them were his, but another trail told him that at the time he fell unconscious, he wasn't alone.

He made his was back to the main den to find a celebration arising.

**xxxXXXxxx**

Cerberus's pack was out and about looking for something to eat. Being split up into two groups, they searched around.

Fenrir, Hati, and Skoll in one group, and the other containing Gwyllgi and Gytrash along with Garmr.

Cerberus stayed back at the packs temporary resting area, waiting for the arrival of Barghest if he came.

"Skoll, hush, you'll scare it away!" Hati whispered to his brother. He, his brother and father were crouched and stalking their next unsuspecting victim.

"What do you know about hunting, I know what I'm doing." Skoll argued back at his brother.

Fenrir just shook his head at his sons; they weren't going to eat tonight if they didn't catch anything before sun down.

Skoll, Hati, and Fenrir, were going to surround their prey, which was a caribou, in a triangular pattern. Hati's plan, which made Skoll irritated.

Hati went left, while Skoll went right, leaving Fenrir in his spot to wait for Skoll and Hati to get in position.

This was Skoll's chance to try and impress his father again, maybe this time it would work.

Skoll moved in quietly, instead of going through with their plan of all striking at once, he decided to make the kill himself.

"Skoll, what are you doing?" Hati tried to get the attention of Skoll, but failed. _"You thick headed killer." _

Skoll moved in closer to the unsuspecting caribou which was bedded down and resting on the ground. This caribou apparently hadn't been able to keep up with its herd, either old or sick; it would soon be feeding a pack of wolves.

Skoll started to move faster, until he made his pounce and gripped the side of the caribou's neck. The caribou got up as fast as it could and started bucking, throwing Skoll off of itself.

"We're going to lose it!" Hati yelled as the caribou started to panic.

"No we're not!" Said Skoll.

"Skoll! Don't!" Fenrir yelled to his son, but it was too late, while Skoll tried to jump at the caribou, it turned around quickly and kicked Skoll out of the air with its rear legs, knocking Skoll away.

"It's getting away!" Hati said.

Hati and Fenrir watched as the caribou ran away. "Leave it be." Said Fenrir.

Hati and Fenrir ran over to Skoll, who hadn't got up yet.

"Is he hurt?" Hati asked.

"It doesn't look that way…" Fenrir said.

Hati used his paw and slapped Skoll on the face a few times. "Come on Skoll, wake up."

Skoll opened his eyes. "What happened?" He groaned.

Hati sighed. "Why do you have to be so hard headed?" Hati asked.

"I thought I could take it down." Skoll said.

"You could have gotten yourself killed Skoll." His father said sternly.

"But I-" Skoll was interrupted.

"No, there was no reason for you to have done that." Fenrir raised his voice.

Skoll got up, and walked past Hati and his father. "Forget it." He said.

"Go back to Cerberus and wait until we get back, you'll be eating last." Fenrir told his son Skoll.

"What drives him to do such things?" Fenrir asked himself.

"Perhaps he's just selfish." Hati said. "Anyway father, we should find Garmr, if we combine with him and his hunting party we should get something to eat in no time."

Hati began to walk off, and then stopped as he looked back at his father. "You coming?" Hati asked his father, who was watching Skoll leave.

"Huh… oh, yes. Let's go." He said, disconnecting from his train of thought. _"Why must Skoll be driven to do ignorant things? Do I not punish him enough? Could he be that hard headed as Hati says? I need to talk with him."_

_Meanwhile…_

"Stupid Hati… I could have taken that caribou if I was alone." Skoll kicked a small pebble around on the ground.

"For once I'd like to see Hati be punished for something." Skoll growled.

He made his way back to Cerberus; no doubt Cerberus would ask of him what had happened.

But instead of finding Cerberus alone, he found Barghest talking with him.

Skoll sat down a little ways away from the two, overhearing they're conversation.

"He's alive, sir." Barghest told him.

"Are you sure it's him?" Cerberus asked.

"Argos told me himself, there is a problem though." Barghest said.

"What is it?" Cerberus asked with a hint of aggravation.

"He seems to have forgotten Argos." Barghest said.

"What do you mean by forgotten him?" Cerberus asked.

"When Argos met up with Ios, he didn't recognize Argos at all." Barghest finished.

"We'll have to pay him a visit, when Ios sees you he'll snap out of what ever has gotten in to him. Go find the others." Cerberus commanded. Barghest started off. Cerberus then looked over to Skoll. "Skoll, go help him."

"Yes sir." Skoll ran to catch up to Barghest.

To Skoll, Barghest wasn't that bad of a guy. Barghest was really the only one who understood him sometimes. Skoll didn't trust Barghest because of him being so mysterious, but he trusted them more than anyone else in the pack other than Cerberus.

"Barghest. What was that about?" Skoll asked, walking beside Barghest.

"Ios is alive." Barghest replied.

"How? I thought he was dead, we all saw it." Skoll asked.

"I don't know, but what I saw was real." Barghest replied.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Dad! I have to tell you something." Lilly came running into the main den where Winston, Garth, Eve, Tony, Marcel, and Paddy were, but gasped when she saw Kate. "Kate!" Lilly ran at Kate and jumped on her.

"Don't you ever leave again; you scared me half to death!" Lilly cried and screamed.

"Lilly calm down! It's okay, I'm here now." Kate comforted as she looked up at Lilly.

"You made me cry." Lilly got off of Kate and let a few tears roll from her cheeks.

"It's okay Lilly, I won't do it again, I promise." Kate embraced her sister with Lilly doing the same.

After Lilly settled down, she and Kate sat down with their family.

"Now can you tell us what happened, Kate?" Winston asked.

"Sure, now where to start… how about when I jumped off of the train." Kate cleared her throat.

"When Paddy, Marcel and I were on a train, I heard a voice that told me to jump off. Marcel and Paddy thought I was crazy but it was real." Kate began.

Everyone except Marcel and Paddy looked at her curiously.

"When we were looking for Humphrey, every time I slept I had nightmares. After a while of searching, Marcel and Paddy decided to fly up and get a sense of direction. While they did that… I uh… died?" Kate said further.

"But how did you come back?" Lilly asked.

"I'll get to that." Kate answered.

"When we came back, we found her at the bottom of a small drop off. We thought she was gone." Paddy said.

"I was, but Humphrey brought me back." Kate said.

"How could Humphrey have brought you back if you were dead? That sounds impossible." Tony.

"To answer that, I don't really know how it happened. Someone or something out there just decided to bring me and Humphrey together, but it also decided to test Humphrey's love for me." Kate said.

"What were the tests?" Eve asked her.

"Well, you know his new friends right? I'll have to introduce you to them later, they're somewhere around here." Kate asked.

Everyone gave a sign of confirmation.

"These tests challenged Humphrey; making him go through things you'll never experience, or want too." Kate explained.

"Like what?" Lilly asked.

"Seeing his friends die, and sacrificing his own life for mine." Kate finished.

"Humphrey really did that for you?" Eve asked.

"Yes, he did. It was all just a dream though… or from what I saw." Kate said.

"I'm just glad my little girl is okay." Winston said.

"Thank Humphrey and his friends, they're the heroes." Kate said.

"We'll be sure to do that, when do you want to have the ceremony?" Winston asked.

"How about tomorrow?" Kate asked.

"You're getting married?" Lilly asked surprised.

"Mhmm." Kate nodded with a smile.

"Where is the luck lad?" Marcel asked.

"I let him go and spend some time with his friends." Kate replied.

Just then, Hutch interrupted, standing at the mouth of the den. Winston made his way to Hutch.

"So what did you find out?" Winston asked, lowering his voice to keep the conversation private.

"Something hit me before I could find out anything." Hutch replied.

"Something hit you!" Winston raised his voice accidentally.

"Yes sir, I was out before I could see what happened.."

Lilly's urgency to tell her father something resurfaced. "Dad, I need to tell you something, it's important."

**xxxXXXxxx**

Ios was following Grace at a distance to a place that was secluded and safe from any eavesdroppers. They hadn't met any of the other pack members; they only made plans to meet somewhere after things settled down and had their own emotions and problems to contend with.

Grace stopped, turned around and sat on her haunches facing Ios.

"I'm going to be completely honest with you from now on Ios, you deserve the truth." Grace quietly said, her hair covering her eyes.

Just then, Kelsa arrived, sitting beside her sister.

"Hi, Ios." Kelsa greeted. She was still very suspicious and scared of him.

"Like you having a sister." Ios said hollowly, his face was serious; he was tired of things being hidden from him. It almost drove him crazy.

"Yes." Grace answered. She looked over to her sister, seeing her healing cuts below her left leg on her ribs.

"Oh my gosh, Kelsa what happened?" Grace asked.

"Cerberus did it to me…" Kelsa answered. Grace sighed; this has gone on long enough.

Little did they all know, a black and grey wolf with purple eyes was spying on them, and he brought some friends.

"I'm listening." Ios said, letting Grace know he was still there.

Grace looked back up at him. "Almost everything I've said about me was a lie." Grace told him.

"Oh great, now how can I trust you?" Ios spat.

"Just listen, it was for a good reason." Grace said.

"What could possibly cause you to lie about everything?" Ios asked.

"Do you remember when you and Humphrey thought I was spying on you?" Grace asked him.

"Yeah." Ios answered.

"Well… I was spying." Grace said.

"Why?" Ios asked.

Suddenly, a number of black wolves showed themselves as they walked out of the tree line beside them.

"What is this? What's going on?" Ios asked.

Grace and Kelsa were in shock as they looked at all of the menacing wolves growling and snarling at them.


	19. Chapter 19 A Girl's Rage

"Hello Ios." Cerberus greeted.

"Do I know you?" Ios asked. He, Grace and Kelsa started to back away from the approaching pack. Kelsa hid behind her sister with her tail between her legs and her ears against her head. Grace's fur stood on end as she wanted so badly to attack and kill every last wolf she saw before her eyes and be over with everything that has cause her and her sister so much pain.

"Of course you do Ios." Cerberus replied.

"You're part of our pack." Fenrir said.

"We thought you were dead." Garmr's low deep voice sounded.

"But he's alive." Argos told his fellow pack brothers.

"And who do we have here." Hati was staring at the two female wolves. The one he knew as Kelsa was hiding behind the one he didn't recognize.

"What is your name?" Gwyllgi asked the dusty red wolf. She didn't reply, she only growled.

Grace forgot about her change in appearance, she no longer looked like her old self.

"She's just a filthy omega." Gytrash said.

"No… she's something different." Cerberus eyed the red wolf suspiciously, looking at the wolf's eyes

Grace tried to look away, hiding her face. Her disguise was able to fool the other wolves, but Cerberus might see through it.

"Wait a second. Haha, thought you could hide." Hati laughed. "Looks like we've finally found Grace."

Grace snarled at Cerberus as he approached her.

"Clever wolf, you thought you could run. You will pay for what you've done to me." Cerberus growled back at her.

All the while, Ios was going through a change. His mind was a torrent of raging long forgotten memories and thoughts. He could barely stand up as his head started to hurt badly, he sat down, grunting as he closed his eyes and put a paw on his head in pain.

"Brother, are you okay?" Barghest asked Ios as he made his way to him.

"Did you just say… brother?" Ios asked, raising his head to look Barghest in the face.

A fight broke out between Grace and Cerberus. Ios looked over to them in horror as Grace was pinned to the ground with the large black wolf's jaws around her neck. Kelsa screamed as she saw this happen.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Did you hear that sir?' Garth asked Winston. The two were leading a large group of alphas in search for Kelsa. Lilly's information had revealed a danger that could kill Kelsa.

"We need to go, now. It could be her." Winston and Garth starting running in the direction of the scream with the twelve alphas following them.

"It sounded like it came from right over here." Garth said, coming around a large boulder revealing a mass of wolves standing about. He saw Kelsa and Kate and Humphrey's new friends, but one of them was on the ground, the female, with a rather large intimidating wolf standing over her.

"What is going on here?" Winston asked with a loud voice.

"Oh, looks like we get to take out a few of your friends too." Gytrash laughed.

"We're leaving." Cerberus commanded to his pack.

"I don't think so. Attack!" Garth commanded to the group of alphas behind him.

The group of eastern and western wolves, along with Winston and Garth, started to charge at the dark colored wolves.

All of Cerberus's pack left in a hurry, leaving Ios, Kelsa, and Grace where they were. They were chased away until the valley pack could no longer keep up.

When Winston and Garth came back with their war party, they checked on the three wolves that had been attacked.

"Are you three okay?" Winston asked.

Kelsa was slumped over her sister, crying on the ground. Ios was also on the ground with his paws over his head with his eyes shut tight out of pain.

Winston walked over to Kelsa and brought her off of her sister's body. He looked Grace over; she was in very bad condition and unconscious, with deep puncture wounds on her neck.

"We need to get them back to the dens." Winston told Garth.

The group had found a flat slab of a tree and had put Grace on it. They then proceeded to carry it to the main den to get Grace help.

Ios followed, but slowly and staggeringly; his headache was giving him a lot of pain.

"Are you alright?" Ios didn't notice Winston had slowed his pace down to meet Ios.

Ios nodded, hiding his pain.

"If you need anything, be sure to let us know." Winston said to him, quickening his pace to catch up to Garth.

Kelsa was sad, scared, and angry, not a good combination for her. Every time she looked over at her sister's body, she got angrier. Cerberus's pack had destroyed her pack, all of her family except for one, her sister, but now they were going to take that away from her.

She looked back at Ios with a fire in her eyes, this was all his fault, if he wouldn't have separated her from her sister then they could have escaped and would be able to live happy lives somewhere else, her and her sister could have found another pack to live with. But things didn't work out that way. She hated him for more reasons than one would think.

Kelsa stopped and turned around, seeing Ios was last and walking slow, she charged at him and head butted his side, knocking him down. He hit his head hard on the ground causing his headache to worsen; more thoughts and memories raged through his mind, they were blurred though.

"What was that for!" Ios yelled at her.

Instead of giving a reason, Kelsa charged for him again as he stood up, knocking him down again.

"What is your problem Kelsa!" Ios was getting angry.

Kelsa only growled at him and pawed closer. Ios could see the anger on her face, but he didn't know why she was angry.

Kelsa charged at him again, this time, Ios dodged, but didn't see her rear leg, knocking him off of his feet.

"Should we stop this?" Garth asked.

"Do you want to get mixed up in that?" Winston raised a brow.

"I'd really rather not."

Ios was knocked down again and again until he was angry enough to attack her. He decided to trip her if she charged again, and she did. He fell to the floor before she could hit him, causing her to barrel over him. Ios got up quickly to hold her to the ground.

"What is wrong with you!" Ios demanded. He underestimated her strength as she pushed his paw away and sunk her teeth into his neck.

"AHH!" Ios choked, as he fell to the ground, clawing at Kelsa to make her loosen her grip.

Garth and Winston intervened and pulled Kelsa off of Ios. Ios was lying on the ground as he saw Kelsa being pulled away, but then managed to get free of Winston and Garth. He saw her stand over and look down at him, thinking this was it, he closed his eyes and braced himself.

What happened next surprised him, he felt Kelsa fall on him and start crying.

Ios got out from under her and sat up, looking down at her, wondering why she had just attacked him and then break down crying.

"Kelsa… I'm sorry." Ios said to her.

Kelsa looked up at him with tears rolling off of her cheeks, falling on the grass.

_Flashback…_

_Chaos rained outside the mouth of a small cave, screams of death could be heard as a pack of wolves were destroying another pack in an intense thunder storm in the night._

_Ios walked inside the den and looked down at the crying blue and white female wolf. _

"_No mother…. don't leave…" He heard her choke through her tears._

_As he looked down at her, she didn't seem to have noticed him walk into the small den, and when she did, she gasped and stared at him fearfully; tears rolling down her cheeks and falling to the ground. A crack of lightning struck outside, illuminating Ios's saddened face. _

_She was crying over another white female wolf that he had killed. It seemed to have been her mother she was crying over. _

"_I'm sorry…" Ios said to her. _

_Reality…_

Ios pulled back, sitting down on his haunches. He now knows why she hates him, he killed her mother. He felt terrible, how could he have done something like that? And that means he killed Grace's mother.

Winston had ordered the other wolves to take Grace back to the den while he and Garth stayed.

Garth walked over to Kelsa and comforted her while Winston walked over to Ios and sat beside him.

"Let's get back to the den." Garth said to Kelsa. She nodded, stood up and shuffled her paws as she followed him; her tail dragged the ground.

Winston watched as Kelsa and Garth went out of sight, and then looked back at Ios, who had a look of sadness and his ears showed it too.

"Is there anything you wish to talk about?" Winston asked him.

"Have you ever felt like you've hurt someone, and you can't make it right again?" Ios asked Winston.

"Time heals." He answered.

"What if it was so bad, that it's unforgivable…?" Ios asked him, this time looking Winston in the face.

"You can't dwell on it forever; soon you'll have to move on, just as the one who has been wronged." Winston replied.

Ios thought deeply about what the wolf has just said. "Thank you, uh…"

"Winston." He replied.

"Thank you Winston." Ios said.

His head didn't hurt as much now.

Winston looked at the sun on the horizon. "I think it's time to get back to the dens." Winston told Ios.

"Better not waste any time." Ios responded.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Oh boy, it's great seeing you guys again." Humphrey said to his friends, Salty, Shakey, and Mooch.

"Dude, we knew you'd come back." Salty said.

"And you're also the luckiest omega alive." Shakey said.

"Since you and Kate are together." Mooch added.

"You have no idea how happy I am to be with her." Humphrey said to them. He and his were walking around the valley, just enjoying the view and catching up.

"Guys… I'd like to do something for Kate tonight." Humphrey told them.

"Like what?" Salty asked him.

"Something romantic." He answered.

"How romantic? Kiss and cuddle romantic or…" Shakey began.

"Whoa, whoa… let's keep it at kiss and cuddle." Humphrey quickly said.

"Looks like someone's afraid of the nasty." Salty chuckled.

"I'm not afraid… just not ready…" Humphrey answered.

"We'll go with that." Mooch added.

"What if she wants to though?" Shakey asked.

"… she deserves what ever she wants." Humphrey replied.

"Good answer, now what should we find, some flowers?" Salty said.

"A night under the stars would be great." Humphrey said.

"Cool, we'll get a bunch of flowers, and find a big open place that you can see the stars from. Good thing there aren't any clouds in the sky." Shakey said.

"Okay, let's get to work."


	20. Chapter 20 Things to Come

The sun had gone down, stars showing themselves one by one, with a bright moon half full. Under that beautiful sky was a valley that was bustled with activity.

Kate had been waiting for any sign of her father or Garth, when she heard the news of another pack hunting down Kelsa, she didn't know what to expect. Her friends Ios and Grace had left without meeting any of her family; they didn't say where they were going either.

Garth was leading a large group of wolves carrying something; Kate went up to figure out what was going on.

"What happened?" Kate asked Garth as she saw Grace laying on a thin flat piece of a tree trunk.

"We found them being attacked by another pack of wolves, we tried to fight them back but they ran and were too fast. You can thank Lilly; her news of Kelsa's situation possibly saved them." Garth replied.

"Bring Grace to my mom; she'll take care of her. Where are the other two?" Kate asked.

"Kelsa should be around here somewhere… she's not in a talking mood right now. And the other one should be with Winston." Garth replied.

"Garth!" Kate heard Lilly yell. She must have heard of the attack from some other wolves.

"Oh hey Lil- *THUD*" He was quickly tackled to the ground by his mate as she frantically searched his body and extremities for anything hurt.

"Are you okay, please tell me you're okay!" Lilly obsessively said to her lover, caring for his well-being like it was more than her own life.

"Lilly, Lilly calm do-" Garth saw that she wasn't listening, so he quickly placed a paw on her cheek, stared into her eyes, and gently kissed her.

"Oh Garth…" Lilly swooned in a light headed, love filled daze.

Kate rolled her eyes and walked off and went to find Ios, and find out what happened.

Kate then began to think of Garth and Lilly's relationship, how they were so… romantically in love, she wanted that, but she knew it would take time for Humphrey to adjust to having the girl of his dreams. In her heart, she'd do anything for Humphrey, she'd known him ever since they were pups, and now, they're all grown up. Kate thought she could postpone her wedding day to the day of the next full moon, but she'd have to ask Humphrey. First though, she'd have to work things out with the pack; her first day back and everything goes haywire. She hadn't had time to make any plans with Humphrey.

She found Humphrey making his way over to her with his friends following. He seemed to be having fun, laughing and getting back to speed with his old buddies. If he was happy, she was happy. But now to break some bad news to him.

"Humphrey, Ios and Grace were attacked." Kate said to him.

"What, are they okay?" Humphrey asked with concern.

"I saw Grace… It's hard to tell if she's alive, Humphrey." Kate sorrowfully said.

"What about Ios? Is he okay?" Humphrey asked.

"Help me look for him." Kate told him.

"Guys, lets find Ios, a black and white wolf, got it?" Humphrey asked Shakey, Salty, and Mooch.

"Got it." They all said.

Then Humphrey, Kate, and Humphrey's friends went around the dens asking and looking for Ios. Looks like Humphrey's plans would have to wait.

Soon enough, Kate saw her father ordering some alphas around. Even though Lilly and Garth were in control, he was like their second in command, and they didn't even ask for him to do it.

"There's my little girl." Winston smiled as he saw his daughter approach him.

"Hi dad." Kate greeted, the smile on her face soon changed to serious worry. "Humphrey and I are looking for Ios, last I heard, he was with you." Kate asked.

"Yes, he followed me to the main den were Grace was, and then he left." Winston answered.

"We really need to find him." Kate urged.

"We're just going around in circles." Humphrey said in frustration.

"Hmm, didn't Ios ask me if I could show him to a quiet and peaceful place?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, what are you thinking?" Humphrey asked.

"Maybe he found one… and I think I know where." Kate then went off down into the valley, heading for the small stream that used to divide the packs by east and west.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"We could have taken them!" Argos yelled at Cerberus as his pack had stopped in a dark part of the valley.

"Watch your tone fool." Cerberus snapped.

"They know we're here now." Barghest said.

"And they'll be searching for us." Fenrir added.

"Oh who cares, we can take these wolves down no problem." Gytrash said.

"There are only a few of us, and many of them. Unless you can fight more than five wolves at a time, I'd suggest you quiet your words." Cerberus growled at him. Gytrash cowered in fear.

"Barghest, find out what they're planning." Cerberus ordered.

"Yes sir." Barghest answered, being embraced by the shadows, blanketing him in its dark glow.

Cerberus then turned to the rest of his pack. "We attack on the full moon."

**xxxXXXxxx**

Kate had led Humphrey to a secluded location, one that was quiet, and it was near a stream. Kate put it in her mind that this was the best place to look for Ios.

"Well, he isn't here." Humphrey said.

"Come on, he might be up stream." Kate said, walking away with Humphrey following her.

A while of walking later, the two came across Ios who was lying down beside the stream with his paw circling around in the water.

"There you are Ios." Kate sighed out of relief.

"We need to get back with everyone else, there's another pack around and they might be out here." Kate told him.

"They won't hurt me." Ios said.

"Why not?" Kate asked.

"Because I'm part of their pack." Ios answered.

"What is he talking about Kate?" Humphrey said.

"Another pack were the one's who had attacked Grace and Ios and that other wolf." Kate answered him.

"You know how I never remembered anything?" Ios asked the two.

The two didn't answer.

"It's starting to come back to me." Ios said, sitting up, taking his paw out of the water.

"How are you part of their pack?" Kate asked.

"I don't know, I just remember being one of them." Ios said.

There was a long silence between them all. What Ios had said gave a bit of a shock to Humphrey and Kate. Humphrey had just been given the news, he didn't know what had happened while he was out with his friends getting a special date ready for him and Kate… looks like it would have to wait.

"Come on, we need to get back. We should check on Grace." Kate told him.

"Okay." Ios said, getting up to follow them back to the den area.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"She has deep puncture wounds around her neck, if she makes it through the night, it'll be a miracle." Eve said, stepping out of the den where Lilly, Garth, Kelsa, Marcel, Paddy, Tony, and Winston, Kate, Humphrey, and Ios were.

Everyone was in a tense state, Humphrey, Kate, Ios, and Kelsa were saddened to hear the news. It hurt them to hear of how closely their friend's life hung in the balance of life and death.

Kelsa tried to push passed Eve to see her sister, but Eve didn't know they were family.

"It's not good for Grace to have visitors right now." Eve told her.

"She my sister!" Kelsa screamed. Eve moved out of her way at her outburst.

"Grace has a sister?" Kate and Humphrey asked confused. They turned to Ios.

"Talk to Grace, she has all of the answers around here." Ios answered rather rudely.

_Meanwhile…_

Kelsa ran over to her sister, seeing her unmoving, broken, and disheartening state. Grace was laying down on her side to rest her head on the ground without causing her injuries to worsen and to keep her as comfortable as possible. Kelsa silently walked in, careful not to let her claws make contact with the rocky den floor. Her ears showed her sadness, her tail showed her fear, and her eyes showed her helplessness.

Kelsa laid upon her stomach next to her sister, but kept her distance because she didn't know what would happen if she touched her sister.

She watched as Grace opened her eyes slowly, watching a smile creep on her sister's face as she looked at her with her green eyes… life seemed drained from them.

"Hey Kels." Grace managed to say with a hoarse voice.

"Hey sis." Kelsa tried to smile through her fear of loosing her sister.

"Don't cry, I've been through worse… remember?"

"I know… I just hate seeing you like this; I wish I could protect you." Kelsa said, letting a tear drop from her eyes onto her face.

"You don't need to protect me, Kels, you just worry about yourself from now on. Don't worry about anyone… else… just take care of yourself for me…" Grace had trouble saying these words. Kelsa didn't like them either… it was almost as if Grace was saying goodbye.

Kelsa nodded, her eyes by now were filled with tears, each growing until they were heavy enough to escape and fall to the ground. She wanted to hug her sister so badly, but she was afraid she'd hurt her, cause her pain and more harm. The feeling wanted to overwhelm Kelsa, but she somehow stood strong against the tide of emotions.

"If they come… run."

**xxxXXXxxx**

Ios walked back to the quiet place he found. He didn't want to be around Kelsa, let alone Grace. He had caused them enough grief.

Things were starting to become clear, his past was blurred, but he could see it.

What puzzled him the most was that his attempt to take Grace's life after he got angry with her. He would never even think about doing that, even if he was angry, but that one time, he just lost control, and it started to become clear to him.

And then the memory that sprang into his mind when Kelsa threw a rage, it was too much. Killing Grace's mother? How could a living monster take a mother away from her daughter? In his mind he thought. _"I must be that monster…"_ But he didn't understand how far his history with her went, and how he ended up in this position. His personality started to change as more and more of his past was revealed to him, he became more serious and calm. His true destiny was clouded to him, he didn't want to do anything except have a life of his own that he possessed and wasn't so very full of hate, evil and sadness.

Ios felt very tired and exhausted from the day, when he got to his new found territory of quiet serenity and calm, he closed his eyes, and fell asleep to the sound of trickling water. A dream would change everything.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Guess the wedding is canceled until this passes." Kate said, lying on the ground on her back, looking up at Humphrey who was sitting down, looking at her. She and Humphrey were in a den all there own. Since Grace was occupying the main den, Kate's entire family couldn't sleep in it, everyone had to either find another hard to find den, or sleep outside. She opted to let herself and Humphrey sleep in another den a little ways away from the den area of the pack, which gave her and Humphrey some time together, she knew he wouldn't want to do anything intimate for a while, but she could talk to him about it… or she could be wrong.

"The wedding was tomorrow?" Humphrey asked her.

"It was going to be a surprise." Kate told him.

"That's okay, I'll just act surprised on the day of our wedding." Humphrey chuckled. He leaned down to kiss Kate. After that; Humphrey laid down next to Kate on his side, facing her. She rolled to face him..

"You know Humphrey… I feel like I've spent my entire life with you..." Kate said, the moonlight was able to shine on her half of the cave while Humphrey was illuminated slightly from the dim reflection of the cave walls.

"I know, isn't it great?" Humphrey smiled. Her eyes held the reflection of the beautiful moon.

"And it got me thinking…" Kate began.

"About what?" Humphrey asked her curiously, taking his eyes off of her radiantly beautiful eyes.

"You'll know when mating season comes around, maybe even sooner…" She said.

"Wait... What!" Humphrey hadn't expected that out of her.

"Goodnight Humphrey." Kate said with a smile as she rolled over and closed her eyes.

"Oh I get it; it's a joke, right. Yeah, just a joke. I'm totally not ready to be a dad, I mean. I could. Wait... No, Kate, Have you thought this through? What if something goes wro-" He was interrupted with a kiss from Kate.

"Stop worrying so much-" She said softly, something with the gentle look on her face took his mind to a distant place where only he and Kate inhabited. "Now let's get some sleep."

Humphrey then decided to hit Kate with his own romantic tease.

"Well… I had a surprise for you too..." Humphrey said.

"What? What kind of surprise?" She asked curiously, sitting up.

"Goodnight Kate." Humphrey smiled as he then laid down and closed his eyes as he slept to the sound of his partner begging him to tell of his surprise. Perhaps since Kate was ready, then he should be too by the time the season rolls around, but hopefully not in the atmosphere in time of killer wolves lurking about…


	21. Chapter 21 The Night Before

_Ios's dreams…_

"_Let's go over this, again." A young black wolf with red eyes said._

"_We already went over this too many times; you're going to get one of us killed by making us wait." Gytrash said to Argos._

"_Shut up; let's just get this over with." Ios told them. Ios was sitting beside his brother, Barghest._

"_Cerberus and his group should be ready by now." Gwyllgi stated._

"_Hold on… There's they are! Here comes the fun part, kill them all!" Argos commanded as he, Barghest, Ios, Gytrash, and Gwyllgi charged out of the shadows of the night and into the den area of a pack that they had been planning to raid ever since they found it. Killing other packs for fun, food, and shelter was a hobby of Cerberus and his pack; they had never lost a member, all except one. The only female in the small pack was killed; the female was Fenrir's mate and the mother to Skoll and Hati. It was a tragic loss._

_In the dark of the night, a thunderstorm had risen; rain and wind lowered visibility and caused even more havoc for the victim pack, leaving Cerberus and his pack to have the advantage. Lightning struck periodically to show a brief picture of the area around them, and they're eyes had adjusted to the low light giving them a form of night vision._

_The den area had two entrances. Argos's group was on one side while Cerberus's group was on the other, keeping each and every single innocent victim trapped to be mercilessly slaughtered, male, female, and pup. _

**X**

"_Where are you going! Stand and fight!" A grey female wolf yelled as a few other wolves ran in the opposite direction he was facing. He watched them run away until they were no longer in sight from the thick rain. When he turned around, a massive dark wolf was standing before him. _

"_Let none live, and make their deaths slow." The sadistic voice of Cerberus sounded. He looked down at the cowering wolf, grinning evilly; he raised a claw to the grey wolf's chin. _

"_Are you afraid?" Cerberus asked the female grey wolf. She shuddered as she felt his claws trace across her face. _

_Cerberus caressed her face once more, slowly tracing to an area on her neck… until finally, he sliced through her throat, she fell to the ground, choking and coughing up blood. _

_Cerberus only smiled, he didn't care for life, only to destroy. He stepped on the wolf's neck to make his way over her, causing her to choke and spurts of blood to spew out; if she could, she'd scream until she died. _

_The rest of his group had been watching. They followed Cerberus to claim their own victims, looking down at the dying female wolf with disgust and sadistic joy, one though, looked down at her with pity, and stayed with her until the one's following Cerberus were out of sight. Fenrir had stayed, he bit down on her neck to make her death quicker, and lessen the pain of her end. _

_Fenrir joined up with the rest of the ravaging of the pack, while his other dark wolf friends killed and slaughtered the wolves. _

**X**

_Ios and his brother, Barghest, moved through the dens and killed the hiding wolves, no survivors. Ios had split from his brother, confident that he could take on anything that was thrown at him. _

_He found a promising large den, could belong to the leader. He strolled in the dark cave, being able to see in the darkness with his night vision like eyes. He saw a few large stones inside, with dried grass beddings lying on the floor. The den was more than he expected, having a tight fit door like entrance leading to another room of the den._

"_Come out; come out, where ever you are." Ios whispered as he crept through the den, keenly watching his back for any sign of attack._

_He made his way to the end of the first room of the den, seeing no sign of life, even behind the large boulders._

_Making his way to the door way to the next room, he made his way inside. His eyes were kept to his left while to his right was shown with a flashing white blur that hit him and slung him to the wall of the den._

"_Go away! You have no reason to be here!" The female white wolf screamed. _

"_I always loved a challenge." Ios said to her, getting low and creeping around her._

"_I'm going to kill you." She replied._

"_I'll make it quick, don't worry." Ios stated. _

_She pounced for him, missing as he dodged left, but he didn't see her kick her rear legs at him, striking him on his face._

_Ios grew angry; he no longer wanted to take it easy on this wolf. He growled before attacking, using his claws to slice through her rear thigh. _

_She screamed out in pain, but refocused and drew a defensive posture, but her opponent had vanished. She looked behind her over her left shoulder and saw nothing. _

_Then suddenly she felt a sharp stinging pain on her right side. She screamed again, falling to the ground this time._

_Ios appeared in front of her, looking down. _

"_Please, don't kill me!" The mature white female wolf begged._

_Ios only stared at her; he brought his powerful jaws to the back of her neck, and severed her vertebrae, instantly causing death._

_He walked out, leaving the now quiet den in peace._

**X**

"_Help!" A wolf cried. He was stuck between two trees, which unfortunately found the same spot to sprout from making a V shape, that he tried jumping between, but ended up being wedged in between them and got stuck._

_The wolf watched as a dark shadow walked around him, a sudden strike of lightening showing the wolf's yellow eyes and long sharp fangs. His heart rate quickened as the wolf came close, meeting him face to face. It growled, filling the wolf with even more fear, causing the trapped wolf to panic to no avail._

_Skoll laughed at this wolf, and grabbed the wolf's muzzle with his teeth, twisting its neck until it snapped. The trapped wolf hung from between the trees like a sickly trophy._

**X**

_The dark wolves had spread all throughout the victim pack's territory. Few of the wolves were left, while none of the dark wolves were even flawed by harm._

"_You will pay for this you monsters!" A strong red colored male wolf cried angrily, charging at Ios as he quickly turned to see the wolf charging at him._

_Ios quickly lowered his body to the ground, and just as the red wolf was just above him, he drove his head up, hitting the red wolf's neck. It fell over him in a choking slump, standing up afterwards with a snarl._

"_He must be the pack's leader, can you handle him?" Ios's brother asked, Barghest grunted and growled, fighting his own battle with another wolf. _

"_He's not a challenge." Ios responded, getting ready for the red wolf's next move._

"_I'll kill you even if it means my life!" The red wolf growled._

"_Then you're life it will be." Ios replied._

_At this, the red wolf snapped his jaws and ran for Ios, as he did this, Ios waited, then attacked the wolf's neck, the momentum was used to toss the red wolf over Ios as he let go of the wolf's neck._

_The red pack leader was on the ground, struggling to get up and fight to his end._

_Ios walked over to him, he kicked the wolf, rolled him over on his back, and grabbed the base of the wolf's neck with his jaws, holding the wolf's body down with his own weight. He pulled with his full force, hearing the wolf scream in pain as he bent the wolf's spine to the point of breaking. _

_Another young red wolf was watching. She saw her father, the pack leader, being decapitated by another white and black wolf. She watched as her father's head was pulled back until his spine snapped, as the white and black wolf let go of her father's head, she watched as it fell to the ground, lifeless._

"_FATHER! NO!" Grace screamed her hate and urge for revenge forced her to sprint after the killer wolf. Ios noticed her speed and jumped out of the way. Grace collided with a nearby tree, hitting her head hard enough to knock her out. The rain, pouring onto her body, soaking it wet._

_Ios ran over to her. "Ios, leave her alive, we could use another female." Cerberus said with a laugh as he walked by. Everything seemed to have stopped. All of their victims were now perished, their bodies strewn their once gracious and lovely territory with blood and gore._

"_Ios, I heard something come from the den behind me, I'll give you the honors." Cerberus told Ios._

"_Yes sir." Ios obediently stated as he made his way to the large two roomed den that he searched before, and had killed a white female wolf._

_Making his way inside, shaking himself off of rain. Lightning blasted a few times, showing nothing within the den._

_Ios started off for the room where he had murdered the white wolf who fought to the death._

_He started to hear crying and weeping. He walked through the small door way to find a scene that impacted him. He saw a dark blue and white wolf slumped and crying over the body of the white female wolf he had killed earlier._

_Just then, he started hearing more screaming and screams of death erupt from the outside, his pack must have found some wolves hiding._

_"__No mother…. don't leave…" He heard her choke through her tears._

_As he looked down at her, she didn't seem to have noticed him walk into the small den, and when she did, she gasped and stared at him fearfully; tears rolling down her cheeks and falling to the ground. A crack of lightning struck outside, illuminating Ios's saddened face. _

_She was crying over another white female wolf that he had killed. It seemed to have been her mother she was crying over. It almost brought a sinking feeling to his heart, he had taken this young female's mother, and she was just entering adulthood it seemed, young enough to be scared for life. _

_"__I'm sorry…" Ios said to her. _

"_Ios, are you alright? Where are you?' Ios heard the voice of his brother sound out in the den._

_He forced the female wolf up and pushed her out, taking her to the entrance of the den where is brother waited. _

"_Are we keeping this one?" Barghest asked, getting a better look at the frightened female, her dark blue eyes full of sadness and fear._

"_I think it's best she lived." Ios told his brother._

_Barghest was sure to look around, seeing that everyone from his pack was out of ear shot. _

"_Ios-" Barghest whispered. "You're growing soft." _

"_Cerberus said we needed females, he can kill her if he wishes." Ios responded._

"_Let's put her with the other one." Barghest sighed._

_The rain had stopped, and the sun had risen, but partially blocked by thick storm clouds._

_Ios pushed the female to their intended destination. Seeing the rest of the pack surrounding the other female, he pushed her further until she was with the other female._

_The blue and white female gasped. "Grace…" She whispered under her breath, but Ios had heard it._

_The blue and white female wolf ran over to the other unconscious red female wolf. The blue and white wolf shook the red wolf awake. She awoke and gasped fearfully, holding tightly the white and blue wolf, almost as if she was protecting her._

"_What are your names?" A small black wolf with red eyes asked._

_The two didn't answer._

"_Come now, you don't want to die do you?" Argos said, stepping forward to the two, peering on the white and blue female, significantly interested._

"_What's your name dear?" Argos asked in a charming tone._

"_Don't answer him." The red wolf whispered._

_Argos took a step forward, getting closer. _

_Kelsa couldn't take it anymore. "Kelsa…"_

"_That's a wonderful name." Argos told her. "And what of yours?" Argos asked the red female._

"_Damn you!" Grace screamed at him angrily. Argos slapped her hard enough to cause her to growl._

"_Grace! Her name is Grace." Kelsa replied, scared for her sister._

"_Ah, that's a pretty name too." Argos said. _

"_Let's take them." Cerberus said. _

_Grace eyed the black and white wolf with hate and disgust, how he walked, and when he spoke, which was rarely, she hated that too. She hated him, the one who killed her father, and soon after they were taken to the den that belonged to this evil pack, she found out that he killed her mother too, right in front of her sister. She was going to find a way to kill him, and she'd make it slow, painful, and find a way to make it emotionally breaking._

**X**

"_Hey brother, how are things?" Barghest asked Ios._

"_Fine, just watching the fish." Ios answered._

"_There's something on your mind, you can't hide it from me, we're brothers." Barghest told him._

_Ios sighed. "I just think there's something more than just killing for a living, why not merge with another pack and live life?" Ios stated._

"_You know we can't do that, they'd find out about us, and some of us can't hold our blood lust." Barghest said._

"_But you and I can, we can leave and never come back." Ios said._

"_What you say is strange Ios, you've been thinking too much." Barghest said._

"_There's a better life out there brother, and I want it." Ios said, staring across a large pond._

_Barghest thought about it for a second. "What ever you choose brother, I'll stand beside you." Barghest told him._

"_Thank you brother." Barghest and Ios were indeed brothers, they're mother left when they were just arriving into adulthood. Together they protected each other and became part of this pack because they didn't fit in anywhere else._

"_Grace and Kelsa are sisters." Barghest changed the subject._

"_How'd figure that out?" Ios asked._

"_The way they acted." Barghest answered. "And you killed their parents too, I overheard them speaking." Barghest said._

"_Yes, it… bothers me." Ios paused. "I've had enough of destroying families." _

"_Ios, you know we can't change, this is what we are." Barghest responded._

"_I guess you're right brother, it was a stupid idea." Ios replied._

"_Let's go check on those two girls; we should be sure none of the others tries anything with them." Barghest said._

"_Fine with me." Ios said._

_Reality…_

Ios woke in the night, stirred by a movement and sound coming from behind him.

Ios laid still, waiting for a chance to strike.

Once this movement could be heard loudly from what seemed a few feet away, Ios sprung up and attacked.

"Brother! It's me!" Ios saw the black and grey wolf he was holding to the ground.

Ios remembered his dream, faintly, but he could distinguish this wolf's name.

"B-Barghest?" Ios looked at the wolf curiously and with confusion.

"Yes." The wolf answered.

Ios let the wolf up, meeting at eye level.

"I-…" Ios couldn't say anything.

"I know what happened." Barghest said.

"How?" Ios asked.

"Grace isn't exactly a quiet speaker." Barghest replied.

"I still don't remember very much." Ios said.

"I'm glad you remember me." Barghest said with a chuckle. "I'm glad you're alive brother."

"What made you believe I was dead?" Ios asked.

"It's best you don't know that from me." Barghest said.

"I see." Ios said.

"I came here tonight to ask you if you wished to come back."

"Come back?" Ios asked.

"Yes, back to our pack." Barghest said.

"But they're all killers." Ios said.

"And we've killed with them." Barghest told him.

"Barghest, I don't know if I want to go back." Ios said.

"It is your place brother, not here." Barghest said with more force added.

"Please brother, give me time to think this over…"

Barghest sighed. "Alright, I will be waiting here tomorrow afternoon. Tell me of your decision then." Barghest told him.

"Thank you." Ios gratefully said.

"Goodbye Ios." Barghest turned and left within the darkness.

"Goodbye…"

Ios thought his choices through, either continue to live a new life and fix what his past has done, or go back and be the monster he always was. He felt so helpless, the daunting task of repairing what his old self had done seemed unfixable, while going back to being a monster seemed the easier choice but morally he felt it was wrong.

He slumped to the ground and cleared his mind, listening to the trickling water and the sound of crickets chirping. He closed his eyes slowly and lost the sense of the physical world around him.

_Ios's dreams…_

_Two weeks had past since Cerberus's last attack that scored them two females. Grace and Kelsa had grown accustomed to the treatment from the dark wolves, but they still hated them all. Kelsa was more frightened by them, while Grace was the one who fought back when ever one of them touched her sister. They had tried to escape twice, both attempts failed because they were tracked and found every time. _

_But most of all, Grace hated Ios for what he had done; he killed her father and mother. Seeing her father die by his hand caused intense hatred while hearing from Kelsa that she had witnessed her mother's death before her eyes held fueled a furious flame of anger and an urge for revenge. But… there was something else. She had grown attached to him; he was always nice to her and didn't provoke her. He was also attractive and muscled, but she knew she couldn't let her feelings get in her way of her family, or what's left of her family that was torn apart by the one she had intimate feelings for. _

_Ios and Barghest did their usual routine, patrolling the boundaries of their pack's den to protect them. Ios and Barghest were close, as close as family could be. Together, the brother's seemed alike in personality, both quiet and serious. _

_The day had almost ended, with an hour of sunlight left before everyone would start dozing off. Barghest and Ios were sitting about under a tree, enjoying the silence. _

"_Get back here!" They heard one of their pack members yell out. They saw Kelsa run by them, crying, running towards her sister who was a ways away from Ios and Barghest. _

"_What happened, Kelsa?" Ios and Barghest heard Grace ask._

"_He tried to…" Kelsa was crying even more. They saw Grace's eyes grow with fiery anger and rage. _

_Then they saw Argos running by with irritation plain on his face._

"_What's going on?" Barghest asked._

"_Nothing, just the bitch wouldn't hold still." Argos spat._

"_You tried to mate her!" Ios yelled out. "Cerberus told us that was forbidden!" Cerberus would have done that for himself to keep the pack's numbers growing; in time when Grace and Kelsa had warmed up to the idea. But Grace and Kelsa wanted no part in it. _

_They saw a red blur from the corner of their eyes as Grace ran into Argos. _

"_I'm going to kill you!" Grace snarled._

_Barghest and Ios stepped intervened. _

"_Take Grace and Kelsa to the den, I'll handle Argos." Barghest told Ios._

"_Come on Grace, Cerberus will take care of him." Ios calmed Grace._

"_I don't care! He's going to pay for-" _

"_I'd rather not see you killed for injuring a member of the pack." Ios told her._

_Grace growled. "Fine." They walked back to Kelsa who was still crying._

"_Come on Kels." Grace told her sister. Kelsa got up and followed her sister._

_When Ios, Grace, and Kelsa reached the emptied den, Ios walked up to Grace._

"_I'm sorry for what he did to your sister." Ios looked over to Kelsa. "He didn't did he?" He asked. _

_She shook her head, her eyes glassy and tears still present._

"_Why should you care? Go away!" Grace yelled, obviously angry. _

_Ios shook his head and walked out of the den. When Ios left, Grace decided to tell her sister of what she had planned. _

_Grace's plan was simple, but could be effective. A large boulder small enough to be pushed by two wolves lay dangerously on top of the den's entryway, which would trap anyone inside. She decided that Cerberus was the best target as his pack would try to save him. She'd surprise him with an attack that would cripple him long enough for her to exit the den and get to the top to help Kelsa push the rock over on the entrance._

"_Now go get up there to the rock and hide. Cerberus, Ios, and Barghest should be the only ones here. The others went out hunting, but don't let the other three see you." Grace told her sister._

_Kelsa nodded._

_Grace and Kelsa left the den; Grace's destination was for Cerberus, now she needed a way to get him to follow her to the den, then she had an idea. _

_She walked up behind Cerberus waiting for the majority of his pack to come back from hunting. _

"_It isn't wise to sneak up on me Grace." He hadn't even turned around to look at her. _

"_I'm sorry; I just couldn't help but look at you." Grace told him, her plan just might work. _

"_You're really big and strong." Grace walked up beside him rubbed against his side. _

"_I am." Cerberus said with a pleasured smile._

"_I really like that." Grace drug her words out in an enticing way. She circled him, his eyes on her as she did so._

"_I'm glad you do." Cerberus said to her, raising a brow as he stared at her attractive form._

"_I thought about what you said, and I would love to." Grace grinned slightly, pulling him into her grasp._

"_Why don't we continue this in the den, shall we?" He led her to the den, both walking closely together. _

_Grace found disgust in what she was doing; what if Cerberus foiled her plan and did what his mind was intending to do as of this moment. She wouldn't let that happen. _

_When they reached the den, Grace was thinking of a way to cause him to be paralyzed for some needed time. She couldn't break his legs; he was too fast to attack his neck, but his stomach, she could knock the wind from him._

"_May I?" She asked as Cerberus stood tall and proud. _

"_You may." Cerberus slyly grinned as he watched Grace circle him._

"_You're very attractive." Grace did the best she could not to gag. She was now beside him, and he was looking at her._

"_What's that?" She looked on the other side of him._

"_Where?" He asked, turning his head to that direction. _

_Grace pulled back, letting her paws rip up the rocky floor of the den and at full speed, and rammed Cerberus's side, making him gasping for breath as he fell to the floor. _

_Grace ran out from the den and made her way to it's top, seeing Kelsa hiding behind the large boulder. _

"_Push it!' She said. Her and Kelsa's strength together caused the large boulder to move, falling upon the ground, blocking the entrance, locking Cerberus inside. _

_The sound alerted Ios and Barghest. _

"_What was that?" Ios asked his brother._

"_They're running away!" Barghest saw Grace and Kelsa jump from the top of the den, but it was blocked by a large rock._

_Barghest and Ios ran full speed after the two, and as they passed the den, Barghest stopped as he heard yelling from inside the den. _

"_Ios! Cerberus is trapped!" Barghest yelled to his brother, but he was already too far away._

_Barghest suddenly heard a mass of footsteps behind him; the rest of the pack had returned._

"_What was that loud noise?" Fenrir asked._

"_Get Cerberus out of here, I need to go chase Grace and Kelsa down." Barghest commanded._

"_Cerberus is in there? Good heavens move the boulder!" Fenrir ordered._

_Meanwhile…_

"_Stop this Grace!" Ios commanded, but Kelsa and Grace continued running. _

_He chased them through thick brush, weaving between trees, and jumping over fallen logs and streams. _

Reality…

Ios opened his eyes as the sun shone on them. He lifted his tired body up with his fore legs and sat on his haunches. Ios looked around to see nothing; the morning seemed early, very early.

He remembered the choice his brother gave him; he still didn't have an answer.

He stood up, stretching his body. He wanted to see if she had made it through the night, and maybe it would help him decide what he should do. The dreams he had gave him more insight on what he used to be.

He suddenly heard footsteps coming from ahead; he saw a lightly colored tan wolf walking towards him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know anyone else came down here." The male wolf said to him.

"Its fine, I was leaving." Ios said.

"Are you that wolf who brought Kate and Humphrey back?" The wolf asked.

"I helped." Ios answered as he watched the wolf take a seat next to the stream with him.

"My name's Terence." He said.

"Ios." Ios replied.

"Good to meet you." Terence smiled, waging his tail slightly.

"I really should go." Ios said.

"Where are you going?' Terence asked.

"I'm going to go and see what Humphrey and Kate are doing." Ios answered

"Could I come with you? It isn't every day you get to meet a hero." Terence asked.

"Sure." Ios answered with a smile.

_Meanwhile…_

Kelsa was having a dream of her own, stirring in her sleep as she laid a little ways from her unmoving sister inside the main den.

_Kelsa's dreams…_

_"Keep running Kelsa!" She heard her sister yell to her, running in the darkness._

_"Stop this Grace!" She heard their pursuer yell from behind her._

_"Kelsa, I'm going to stall him, keep running, just keep running and don't look back." Grace said to her sister as they ran._

_Kelsa nodded._

_Grace turned and burned back to Ios, taking him to the ground. She then started running in a different direction that her sister. He got back up and followed her._

_"You can't run forever!" Ios yelled to Grace._

_Grace saw a break in the tree line, and a paved surface of ground in front of her. She made no hesitation to cross it as she saw a faint light coming from one direction._

_"Brother, stop!" Ios heard his Barghest yell to him. Ios continued on, breaking through the tree line, and making his way across the road, but he failed to notice the car heading straight for him, colliding with him._

_The car struck him, throwing his lifeless body across the road as the car screeched to a halted stop._

_Grace looked back, she saw what happened._

_"No…" Barghest shook his head in grief as he saw his brother's lifeless body._

_Just then, Barghest heard the rest of the pack coming from behind him._

_Cerberus saw his body and the vehicle. "We must leave, the humans will see us." The pack all left, one by one, following Cerberus. The last one to leave was Barghest, he let a tear drop; he stood up and left with Cerberus._

_"Oh my gosh Rick, you hit a dog!" Grace heard a female human say as it left the contraption._

_"Look at the damage! This is going to cost us so much money!" The human, Rick, said._

_Grace watched as the humans got back in the contraption and sped away, leaving Ios's body lying on the road._

_She waited for a second, watching him. Her first thought was that she had gotten revenge; she wanted to go up to his body and rip it apart, but didn't want to risk being seen by any of his pack._

_Then another thought ran through her mind, her sister. Where could she be? She didn't know, as long as she was away from here._

_Grace then held a shocked expression as she watched Ios get back up. He stumbled around walking forward._

_Grace couldn't believe it; so she followed him quietly. If she could get the chance, she'd kill him, it would be the first kill of her vengeful hate against him and his pack. She followed him through the night as he stumbled on the road, seeing him finally fall. Another contraption drove by, stopping, and two humans loaded Ios onto their truck and left. Grace followed the truck as fast as she could, wanting to find out where he was being taken to and if he was alive._


	22. Chapter 22 Return

"I didn't know someone could go through all of that." Terence said to Ios while walking back to the den area in the valley.

"Well, we did." Ios replied.

"You and Grace act like you're 'together'." Terence said.

"Oh, no. We aren't together or anything, just friends…" Ios responded.

"I wouldn't have known. Who's the blue and white wolf?" Terence asked.

"Kelsa, she and Grace are sisters." Ios answered.

"Really? Maybe I should get to know her."

"She sticks to her sister a lot." Ios said.

"Maybe you can introduce me sometime." Terence said.

"Sometime maybe." Ios said back.

Terence and Ios arrived at a den, the den where Kate and Humphrey were.

"Oh, I forgot, I have to go do some chores, see you later Ios."

"Bye Terence." Ios said. When Terence left, Ios walked into Kate and Humphrey's temporary den, and smelled something faint inside.

"Oh they did not." Ios whispered to himself. Ios heard movement come from inside the den and hid out of view of the entrance.

He heard Humphrey waking up.

"Good morning baby." Ios heard Kate tell him. "You were amazing."

"You were too." He heard Humphrey tell her.

He decided not to listen to their conversation anymore. "Hello you two."

"Ah! Ios! Um…" Kate didn't expect Ios.

"I see you two were busy. And this is just a suggestion, but you two might want to get cleaned up… I could smell you two from the outside of the den, and all of that… stuff on you Kate doesn't make you look so innocent…" Ios chuckled. "Maybe a dip in the stream?"

"Ever heard of privacy?" Kate snapped in an irritated way at Ios.

"Hehe, maybe we should Kate… don't want anyone else to know." Humphrey said.

**#**Humphrey and Kate walked out of the den and headed for a small stream to wash their liquids of love from each other's bodies. Kate had woken Humphrey up which it led to an intimate and romantic night; playing around in a dirty way and trying things. **#**

"I'll be waiting here when you get back." Ios said and smirked as the two walked off.

Ios waited for a while; he started to wonder what was keeping them. He was about to leave and check on them but he saw them appear out of the trees.

"We should go see Grace, I didn't want to go alone." Ios said as they met up with him.

"She's strong, we know she made it, don't worry." Humphrey said.

"I just hope she's strong enough." Ios said.

He, Kate, and Humphrey then made their way to the main den.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Shut up Hati! You think you know everything, but you don't!" Skoll yelled at his brother.

"Yes, I do. You'll never be any more than you are now. Father is disappointed in you." Hati said hurtfully.

"Screw you!" Skoll spat as he ran off to cool down.

Hati felt that Skoll needed to hear the truth.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"There it is…" Humphrey said as he Kat and Ios looked at the den which held Grace inside.

"Yeah…" Ios muttered.

They all feared the worst, if Grace hadn't made it, today wouldn't be a very happy day.

"Let's go, she's probably waiting to see us." Kate told the two.

They all made their way to the den and walked inside. They saw Kelsa beside Grace's body.

Kelsa looked over at them.

"Is she?" Humphrey asked.

"She's okay." Kelsa answered.

Kate, Humphrey and Ios gave a sigh of relief.

"Hey guys." They heard Grace say in a rough voice.

"How are you feeling Grace?" Kate asked her as she and Humphrey went up to sit beside her.

"It doesn't hurt as much, but I can't move." Grace answered.

"You'll be okay in a week or two." Kate said to her.

"Can you tell us about you having a sister?" Humphrey asked.

Grace sighed. "I guess it's best that I tell you guys about everything."

"What do you mean by everything?" Humphrey asked.

"Everything that I've said to you is kind of a lie…" Grace said.

Grace then told her story to Humphrey, Kate, and Ios.

"And after seeing Ios get back up, I followed him down the road." Grace continued.

Kate and Humphrey sat quietly, shocked and surprised about the truth.

"After I followed him, he was captured by humans. I followed them to a place that held Ios in a cage."

"Were you going to kill him?" Humphrey asked.

"I was, but when you and Ios escaped, I followed you two. When you two stopped to talk, I found out that Ios didn't remember anything, and when you two heard me and found me out, Ios didn't attack. I didn't really know what to do. Kelsa and I were separated, and I knew I wouldn't be able to find her without anyone's help, so I joined you guys on your way to Jasper… I just didn't know that we'd go through so much. And I never realized that I'd become friends with the wolf who killed my family." Grace finished.

Ios sat quietly in the den behind Kate and Humphrey. Kelsa was still lying by her sister.

"Kate…" Humphrey whispered. "What should we do about this?"

"I don't know." Kate whispered back.

"Ios, I-… where did he go?" Grace said as she did her best to look around for Ios.

Humphrey and Kate looked behind them.

"I don't know, he was just here." Humphrey said.

"Can you go and find him? I want to tell him something." Grace begged.

"Sure Grace, we'll find him." Kate told her.

Humphrey and Kate jogged out of the den to go look for Ios.

"Ios! Where are you!" Kate yelled out.

_Meanwhile…_

Ios heard his name being called from behind him.

"I'm sorry… for everything." He whispered.

He made his way to the spot his brother was supposed too meet him.

"Brother?" Ios called out.

"I'm right here." Barghest said, walking out of the shadows of the trees. "Have you made your choice?"

"Yes, I have." Ios walked up to his brother. "Lead the way."

"Glad to have you back brother." Barghest said with a smile.

Ios followed Barghest, going back to his old ways.

_Meanwhile…_

"Hati, what's wrong with Skoll? He isn't talking to me." Fenrir asked his son.

"I don't know father, he isn't talking to me either." Hati said.

"Excuse me, but we should prepare for Ios's arrival, Barghest should be coming back in a few minutes." Argos said to the two.

"We should go father, if Skoll wants to be ungrateful of Ios's return then let him sulk." Hati stated.

Hati, Argos, and Fenrir it to the place where Cerberus was waiting with Garmr, Gwyllgi, and Gytrash was waiting for Ios and Barghest.

"He should be here any minute. Where's Skoll?" Cerberus asked.

"He's not feeling well." Hati replied.

"I think I hear them." Argos said.

Cerberus's pack all stood around in different areas of they're temporary camp inside the valley.

"Here they are Ios." Barghest said to his brother.

"Hey guys." Ios greeted.

"Glad to see you back Ios." Garmr said.

"Hi Ios!" Gwyllgi and Gytrash said together.

"Welcome home." Argos said.

Everyone greeted Ios and settled down for the night. Cerberus wanted to know a few things from Ios about the pack. He caught Ios alone before sundown and decided to have a talk with him.

"Hello Ios." Cerberus greeted.

"Hello Cerberus." Ios greeted back.

"Yes, I have a question to ask you." "Cerberus began as he sat down. "Is Grace dead?"

Ios thought for a second, if Cerberus found out she was alive, he'd try to kill her again.

"Yes, she is dead." Ios lied.

"She got what she deserved." Cerberus stated. "How about you? Are you alright? You were hit by the humans; we all thought you had left us."

"I'm fine, just confused about where I should go." Ios said.

"You've found your place once again Ios." Cerberus said. "Oh, yes, and we have plans for an attack, are you ready for it?" Cerberus asked.

"An attack?' Ios asked.

"Yes, we plan to attack the wolves who live in this valley on the next full moon." Cerberus replied.

Ios thought, it was already a half moon right now, they'd attack in a week or two.

"I'll be ready by then." Ios said.

"Good, we need everyone on this one; no one is to survive this time." Cerberus left Ios.

"No one survives… what am I going to do?" Ios asked himself. "I can't kill my friends…"


	23. Chapter 23 Girl Talk

"We've searched everywhere, sorry Grace." Kate said, sitting by Grace inside the main den.

"Why would he just leave?" Grace wondered.

"He might need time to think on his own, he could be back tomorrow morning." Humphrey said.

"I hope so." Grace said.

"I'm going back to the den Kate, you coming?" Humphrey asked.

"You can go; I'll be there in a few minutes. I'm going to talk with Grace for a little bit." Kate told him.

"Alright, see you there. Love you baby." Humphrey gave Kate a kiss and left the den.

"Wow." Grace said.

"Yeah, he's so dreamy." Kate said.

"Dreamy? Wait… did you two do anything?" Grace asked, raising a brow.

Kate shuffled her paws nervously. "Why, did you notice something?" Kate asked with a half smile showing her teeth.

"It's just obvious." Grace told her.

"I didn't know it was that obvious…" Kate said.

"It isn't bad Kate, I'm actually happy for you. So you're going to have pups?" Grace asked.

"Oh no, we didn't go that far. We just had a good time... with each other..." Kate said.

"Not wanting to be parents just yet, huh? So how'd it go? Was Humphrey what you expected?" Grace asked; she obviously wanted to know for herself.

"Oh yes, more than that. He didn't really know much about it though; I had to do a little teaching, like how to please a girl..." Kate giggled.

"I bet; he didn't seem experienced in relationships." Grace also giggled. "So what about his… was it big?"

"You wouldn't believe-"

Kate and Grace stopped talking when they heard what sounded like the pitter patter of paws and claws on the rock.

"Hey Kate. What are you talking about?" Kate's sister walked into the den.

"Hey Lilly, we're just talking about boyfriends…" Kate greeted, hoping Lilly hadn't heard what she was talking about.

"Oh, really? That's not what I heard. You're a loud talker." Lilly grinned slyly.

"Oh, I…" Kate stuttered.

"Don't worry, I won't tell mom." Lilly told her.

"Phew, thanks Lilly." Kate sighed.

"Besides, Garth is a monster." Lilly giggled.

"Oh really?" Kate raised a brow.

"All we did was play a tickle game in our den, and when he stopped tickling me I tickled back. I guess I went too far; he's rough but I like it that way." Lilly stated with a grin.

"You're having pups?" Grace asked.

"Mhmm." Lilly nodded.

"Congratulations." Grace smiled.

"That's great Lilly." Kate said to her sister.

"Thank you, I just hope mom doesn't kill Garth when she notices me." Lilly said.

"I'm sure mom and dad know that it's bound to happen sooner or later." Kate reassured her sister.

"Yeah, maybe I should tell them when Garth isn't around sometime tomorrow." Lilly said.

"I wouldn't do that for a while, if your parents are that protective, then tell them in a couple of weeks." Grace suggested.

"Okay." Lilly said. "Oh, and my name is Lilly by the way." Lilly introduced herself.

"Pleased to meet you, Kate's sister?" Grace asked.

"Yup." Lilly nodded. "Hey Grace… Where did your sister go?"

"She told me she was going to go get something to drink before she went to sleep." Grace told her.

Just then, Kelsa walked in to the den.

"Oh, hi." She greeted, surprised by the two visitors to her sister.

"Hey Kelsa." Lilly greeted with a smile.

"Hello, we haven't met yet, my name's Kate." Kate introduced.

Kelsa nodded at Kate.

"Sorry, my sister is a bit shy around new faces." Grace said.

"That's okay, I don't mind." Kate smiled at Kelsa. The blue and white wolf stayed at the entrance of the den.

"Oh, Grace, do you have a boyfriend?" Lilly asked.

"Lilly!" Kate said sternly.

"What?" Lilly asked confused and annoyed.

"That was too random." Kate told her.

"Actually, I don't." Grace answered. Kate turned back to Grace.

"But you will, right?" Kate asked.

"What do you mean, Kate?" Grace asked.

"Oh you know, you and Ios would make a cute couple." Kate grinned.

Grace decided to try and sit up from her laying position. She used one paw as balance while she used the other to lift her body up, careful not to injure further the wounds on her neck.

"Oh, Grace." Kelsa trotted over to help her sister up.

"Why do you think Ios and I would make a good couple? Look at everything he's done to me and Kelsa." Grace said to Kate.

"But I saw it before, when we were traveling together, you and Ios. He looks at you like you're the most beautiful wolf he's ever seen, even with that dirt in your fur. He likes you for you." Kate told her.

"Yeah but-" Grace was cut off.

"And that time on the train, you paused before you got off of Ios, why?" Kate asked.

Grace paused for a moment. "…I can't remember, I guess I thought you weren't watching…" Grace said.

"You were going to kiss him, weren't you?" Kate asked.

"No! I-… I thought about it… But I didn't." Grace admitted.

"Ah ha! So you do like Ios." Kate grinned.

"So what! It will never happen, not with the history between us. There'd be fights and arguments… it can't happen." Grace bowed her head.

"Anything is possible Grace; you just have to let it happen." Lilly told her.

"I'll talk to him in the morning then." Grace replied.

"You don't have to Grace; I just think you two should be together. You deserve each other." Kate told her.

"Well thanks for caring Kate, but with Cerberus out there, we're all in danger." Grace stated.

"Don't worry Grace, we have all of our alphas taking shifts on look out all over the valley. It they attack, we'll be ready." Kate reassured.

"Yeah, and Garth can kill them all." Lilly giggled.

"He's not all powerful, Lilly." Kate scoffed.

"He was yesterday night…" Lilly trailed off.

"Lilly… what am I going to do with you?" Kate shook her head.

"Nothing because we're sisters." Lilly smiled sweetly.

"What about Kelsa? Does she have anyone special?" Kate asked, looking over to Kelsa.

"No, she hasn't really been interested in a relationship." Grace said.

"That's fine, but maybe there's someone she'd like to make friends with." Kate said.

"Again, she's shy." Grace said.

"I'm sure we can find someone to introduce her to." Kate replied.

"Would you like to do that Kelsa?" Grace asked. Kelsa nodded after thinking a bit. "Do you know anyone? I don't want her with anyone who would take advantage of her." Grace turned back to Kate.

"I trust him with my life." Kate stated.

"That's good…" Grace trailed off.

"What's wrong?" Kate asked Grace, seeing as she zoned out.

"I'm scared…" Grace said. "Cerberus is coming back, I don't know when, but he's coming back."

"You told us he only had nine wolves in his pack right?" Kate asked.

Grace nodded her head slowly. "But they're strong enough to count for double."

"We still out number them, they can't take on nearly thirty alphas, and if it comes down to it, the omegas can fight." Kate said.

"Cerberus and his pack need to be killed; they've murdered so many innocent wolves." Grace stated.

"It's okay Grace, we're a stronger pack, and we know they're coming. You have nothing to worry about." Kate said, getting cocky about her pack.

"I hope so; I don't want to wake up tomorrow dead." Grace stared at the ground.

"They really sneak in and kill wolves in their sleep?" Kate asked.

"Argos could have done that to me." Kelsa interrupted. Kate and Grace looked over to Kelsa.

"Oh yeah, we all woke up one morning with a black wolf named Argos sleeping in this den with us." Lilly added.

"He could have killed us all if he wanted to." Kelsa finished.

"They have many ways of doing what they do best, Kate. Which is kill, and that's all they know. None of them can be trusted." Grace stated.

"But you trust Ios." Kate intervened.

"That's different-" Grace was interrupted.

"No it's not, how could you have known that Ios wouldn't have attacked you when you weren't looking? Why do you look him in the eyes as a friend… and something more? How is it that you accept his presence and turn your back to him without fear of him? You trust him because you see him different from them. You love him." Kate ranted with numerous rhetorical questions.

"… I-I…" Grace stuttered.

"Sorry." Kate held her head in a paw. "I'm just a bit tired."

"I forgive you Kate… I trust Ios because I do have feelings for him, but I don't know if I can fully trust him. Since he knows about his past now, I don't know how he'll take it." Grace stated.

"We can all talk with him in the morning, I'm sure he's somewhere out there sleeping, possibly even right outside." Kate told her.

Silence cut through the chatter. Grace yawned causing everyone else in the den to yawn too; they all laughed as they saw that Grace's yawning was contagious.

"Well, I think we should go and get some sleep Lilly." Kate said to her sister.

"Okay, Garth is probably waiting for me." Lilly said.

"Whatever." Kate scoffed.

"What? Jealous?" Lilly asked with a grin.

"Psssssh, no. I'm just wondering if every conversation you have from now on will have Garth in them at least forty times a day." Kate said.

"What are you saying?" Lilly asked.

"I'm saying that you're a little bit obsessive…" Kate told her.

"What! I am no-… so what if I am? Garth likes it…" Lilly argued to her sister.

All the while Grace and Kelsa were giggling at Kate and Lilly's conversation.

Grace cleared her throat to remind Kate to get back on track.

"Oh, goodnight Grace, Kelsa." Kate said.

"We'll see you two in the morning." Lilly said as she and Kate walked out of the den, leaving Kelsa and Grace to themselves.

"They're nice... and kind of funny." Kelsa said.

"Yeah, they are." "Grace said. "How do you like it here?" Grace asked.

"It's great, everyone is nice to me, and no body hurts anyone." Kelsa said to her sister.

"Would you like to live here?" Grace asked.

Kelsa nodded with a smile on her face.

"Then this is our new home." Grace said.

Grace laid on the ground carefully, and let go of the tension in her body and closed her eyes.

Kelsa made a whining and whimpering sound.

Grace looked over to Kelsa with a raised brow, then she rolled her eyes. "Oh all right, come here."

Kelsa smiled and snuggled up next to her sister, falling asleep.

"Goodnight Kelsa." Grace whispered as she put her head on her forepaws and fell asleep."


	24. Chapter 24 In Vain

"Ios!" Humphrey called. He and his friends were searching a desolate part of the valley for Ios, but they had no luck, not even a clue.

"It's like he just disappeared, or left." Salty said to Humphrey.

"He wouldn't just run away, it's not like him" Humphrey trailed off in thought for a short time.

"Do you remember when he first started missing?" Shakey asked.

"Yeah, he was with us when Kate and I went to go see Grace, after spending some time with her we turned around and Ios was just… gone." Humphrey told him.

"Do you know where he might have gone?" Mooch asked. Shakey, Salty, and Mooch sat around their buddy, Humphrey.

"The only place I think he'd be is where Kate is searching." Humphrey replied.

"Well we've looked everywhere around here Humphrey. Nothing here." Mooch told him.

"We should head back now, and see if Kate found anything." Shakey said.

"Whoa, just hold on. That's Humphrey's decision." Salty told Mooch and Shakey.

Humphrey looked upon his three friends as they looked at him with awaiting faces.

"There's no way he's all the way out here, we're nearly on the outside of the valley. Let's go back and see if they found him." Humphrey answered.

Humphrey's three friends followed him as they made they're way back to the den area of the valley in which their large pack called home.

Meanwhile, another search group was out seeking the lost wolf.

Kate had managed to get a few clues, some paw prints and old scents, but after following them a short distance, they ended. It was futile.

"Do you know what motives he had for leaving?" Hutch asked Kate.

"No, he just left. He might be having a hard time, but I'm not sure." Kate wondered if it was any of their faults for driving him away.

"If we don't find him soon, that new rival pack will." Can-do said out loud.

"You won't believe this, Can-do, but he's one of them." Kate said to him.

Hutch and Can-do looked at her with confused expressions, not grasping the point of her words.

"Long story short, that's his pack out there that attacked Grace; I'm not sure what they'll do to him if they find him. All the same, we had better find him first." Kate scanned her surroundings again.

"Kate, we can't search all morning, it'll leave us open for attack." Hutch warned.

"They're not going to attack the pack in broad day light, and Kate said they're too small-"

"I meant us, they may be too small to take on the pack but they can take us down without much effort." Hutch said.

"I agree with Hutch, it's safer if we go back." Can-do said.

Kate looked back at the stream and the forest behind it. Giving on last hopeful glance, she sighed and reluctantly turned back to Hutch and Can-do.

"I don't like leaving a friend out there alone… but it is best if we go back." Kate said, disliking the words emanating from her mouth.

"Who knows, someone could have found him already." Can-do said as he followed Hutch and Kate.

While they made it back to the den; they watched as the other search parties showed up, with nothing to show for their efforts.

Kate saw as Humphrey walked up to her.

Humphrey sighed and sat on his haunches beside Kate. "We couldn't find him."

"There were a few scents and tracks, we followed them the best we could, but we couldn't find him." Kate told him.

They were surprised to find Lilly and Garth walking up to them. They were also part of the search effort.

"We've been searching all morning, what if he just decided to go off on his own and leave the valley?" Garth asked.

"He wouldn't do that…" Humphrey trailed off.

"We can keep a few wolves out every now and then, but we have to assume he's not in the valley anymore." Lilly said.

"Grace isn't going to like this." Kate said, turning to Humphrey.

"Better to tell her now than later." Humphrey said back.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Ow, Kelsa… help me up, please." Grace groaned as she felt her body stiff and sore when she tried to get up. She had just woken up for the morning and felt terrible.

"I don't think you should get up right now." Kelsa told her sister caringly.

"Kelsa, please, I'm fine." Grace tried to overcome the pain and did her best to push herself up, but crashed back down to the rocky floor with a thud. She yelped and whimpered as pain pulsated through her body.

"Grace!" Kelsa yelled. Her outburst caught the attention of Eve, who was outside of the den.

Eve walked inside with haste.

"Grace, don't move so much, you're body is trying to heal. The soreness will go away after a while, but until then you aren't going anywhere." Eve scolded.

"But…" Grace searched her thoughts for an excuse. "I have all this dirt in my fur, and I need to wash it out or my cuts could get infected."

"I've already washed enough of it away so that your cuts don't fester. You're fine, just try to get some rest, time will go by faster." Eve comforted.

"Okay…" Grace let go of the tension in her body and did as Eve heeded.

"May I ask why you have dirt in your fur?" Eve asked, having noticing the dirt before she doctored Grace when she was attacked by Cerberus.

"Well… I-I did it because I didn't want any of them to recognize me…" Grace reluctantly replied.

"Really? I heard about them. That's terrible for someone as young as you to go through; it's a shame you had to loose so many loved ones."

"Thank you." Grace closed her eyes, her mind was raging with thoughts that wouldn't let her rest.

"Oh, Kate, what are you two doing back?" Grace heard Eve say.

Grace opened her eyes to see Kate and Humphrey standing inside the den.

"Grace, we couldn't find Ios anywhere. All of the search parties have come back and have reported nothing." Kate told Grace.

Grace sighed. "Did you see any of his old pack?"

"No, they haven't been seen since they last attacked you." Humphrey answered.

"_What if he went back to them? No, no he couldn't have; he wouldn't… Would he?" _Grace thought.

"Do you think he left the valley?" Humphrey asked.

"No… I fear he might have done something far worse…"

All throughout the day; all the wolves searched until night fell, no trace of Ios were found.

**xxxXXXxxx**

The coming morning was beautiful. The dew shinned from the rays of the sun, causing a glitter and shimmer to shine from the grass and trees.

"Rise and shine, Ios." The familiar voice of Argos rang though Ios's ears, bringing him from his deep slumber under the shade of the trees.

"Five more minutes…" Ios mumbled as he rolled over, away from Argos.

"Oh, Barghest thought you were hungry." Argos told him.

Ios's stomach growled as soon as Argos mentioned his hunger.

Ios turned his head towards Argos and looked at him in a confused expression.

**#**"We're going hunting soon; the more wolves we have the greater our chances for the number of kills. You want to help?" Argos asked.

"Yes, but where's Barghest?" Ios asked. He seemed to be the only one sleeping in the area that was once full of his sleeping pack brothers. The short grass still showed the imprints of their forms.

"He's with Cerberus; they're all getting ready to hunt." Argos answered.

"Lead the way then." Ios responded to Argos.

Ios followed Argos to a tree where all of his pack were sitting down, getting ready for a hunt.

"Good morning brother." Barghest greeted as Ios sat beside him. Skoll was sitting on the other side of Barghest; not in the brightest of moods though.

"Morning." Ios said back. "You know, you could have woken me up."

"I had a feeling that you'd want to sleep in." Barghest said.

"Thanks, I guess." Ios responded.

Everyone fell silent as they looked to Cerberus for instruction.

"We are not splitting into groups this time; we're going to take down a herd, so we need everyone on this." Cerberus announced.

"Ios and Barghest will chase the herd to a choke point where I choose; we all then spring out from hiding and kill as many of the beasts as we can." Cerberus finished.

"Oh great." Barghest whispered.

"Alright everyone, move it." Argos ordered.

All of the wolves followed Cerberus in the shadows of the trees to a hunting ground in which they had scouted earlier. Plenty of caribou grazed there, and it was concealed enough not to attract the attention of other wolves.

Ios and Barghest followed last, along with Skoll who seemed in a down mood.

Barghest had noticed Skoll's mood for a while now, but hasn't asked him what caused him to behave in such a manner.

"Skoll, is there something wrong?" Barghest asked the Skoll, who was practically dragging his paws along the ground in a slump.

"…No." Skoll answered hesitantly.

"You aren't very good at hiding the truth." Ios said.

"It's nothing important…" Skoll began, his voice simmered to a whisper. "Family problems."

"Oh…" Barghest let silence fall between them. "We'll talk later then."

The rest of the walk was in silence as the small group of darkly furred wolves searched for they're prey.

"They should be right ahead." Cerberus stopped the trail of wolves behind him. "Barghest, Ios, get up here." Cerberus ordered in a whisper.

Ios and Barghest heard the orders and quietly made their way to the head of the group.

"I need you two to drive them to us, we'll be waiting in between two large boulders, funnel the caribou through there, we'll attack from the top and from behind the boulders. Do not fail." Cerberus said. They both nodded.

"Then get to it, we don't have all day!" Cerberus whispered loudly.

Barghest led the way with Ios following closely behind him.

They made there way out of the trees to the edge of a clearing; seeing the heard of caribou, they hunkered down and snuck through the tall grass.

"You think you can handle this?" Barghest whispered to Ios.

"Is that a joke?" Ios whispered back.

Sneaking through the tall grass quietly, Ios began to lead the way, getting ahead of Barghest too quickly.

"Ios, slow down." Barghest commanded.

Ios did as his brother said, slowing his pace down for his brother to catch up.

Ios was getting too far ahead of himself; he had done this many times before, but today his nerves were bothering him.

Together, they moved in on a herd of caribou ahead of them; circling around and aiming the herd where Cerberus had told them to herd the caribou. The two large boulders jutted out from the earth, creating a small path between them enough for one or two of the caribou to go through at a time. It would be a perfect ambush if it all went well.

"Ready?" Barghest whispered through the tall grass at Ios.

Ios nodded. "Let's do it."

In one moment, time had slowed down. Ios and Barghest leaped at the same time; snarling and growling loudly for their prey to hear.

The herd of caribou was spooked; they reared up and galloped in the other direction.

Barghest and Ios then sprinted with the caribou, herding them toward their doom as they came up to the two jutting boulders.

The caribou all went in single and doubles between the boulders, as planned.

Before the herd could get away, however; Cerberus and his pack appeared, some atop the boulders and some behind them.

Each wolf chose a target, and went after it. Ios saw his pack brothers jump from the boulders down on the backs of the caribou while the others trailed along the herd and tripped some, ripping the hoofed creatures' necks open.

Ios and Barghest chose their own targets as they followed the herd as it started to make it's leave; both hitting their mark and taking down their kills with expert precision and decisive strikes.

When everything calmed down, Cerberus's pack had all together killed an amount of eight caribou.

"We'll be eating all day!" Gytrash howled out in joy. Garmr and Gwyllgi laughed and howled with him. Hati rolled his eyes along with Argos. Hati and Argos weren't able to kill any caribou, so they had to share.

Fenrir saw that his son, Skoll, had gotten the biggest kill, and it impressed him.

Fenrir walked over to Skoll. "Good job, son." Fenrir smiled.

"Yeah, whatever." Skoll said in a low and uncaring tone.

Fenrir watched his son walk past him; he was growing increasingly worried for his son's behavior.

"_If only your mother were here… she'd know what to do…"_ Fenrir thought.

Everyone then turned their attention to Cerberus.

"Let's get our kills out of the open." Cerberus ordered. They all complied and drug their kills to a safer and secure place.

After they drug their total of eight kills, they stopped in the shade of the deeper parts of the forests within the valley.

After Cerberus chose his carcass and started eating, the rest of his pack followed; tearing open the caribou's midsection and ripping out organs; breaking off limbs. They all gulped down bloody mouthfuls of their carcasses, and after a while, they all started to feel full and satisfied with their now nonexistent hunger. Some were going to save the rest of their carcasses for later.

"Ah." Garmr sighed. "I couldn't eat another…" He belched and went back to eating more of his caribou carcass.

"Whoa, Garmr's going to eat himself to death. If he keeps this up he'll have eaten all of our food by the time noon roles around." Argos joked.

"What was that?" Garmr looked back at Argos with anger in his eyes.

"Nothing slob, go back to eating." Argos scoffed as if he had just been insulted by being talked to.

"Who're you callin' a slob, mutt!" Garmr made his way menacingly to Argos, who backed away a few steps and growled.

"Knock it off you two." Fenrir ordered.

"I'll put you in your place, ya worthless hyena." Garmr spat.

"It would be a big mistake." Argos snarled.

"Silence!" Cerberus's voice attracted everyone's attention. Garmr and Argos ceased their bickering.

"Listen…" Cerberus's ears were perked up.

Everyone else followed his example and perked their ears.

Cerberus continued to scan until something caught his eye.

"There! Get him!" Cerberus commanded as he saw a small, light tan colored wolf hiding behind a tree.

"Ahhh!" The tan wolf screamed in terror and ran away with an entire pack after him.

"Do not let him escape! I want him alive!" Cerberus barked out.

Barghest, Fenrir, and Ios were the only ones able to keep up with Cerberus's speed.

The light tan wolf was getting closer; running for his life wasn't fast enough.

Cerberus sped up and stuck his paw out to grab the tan wolf's rear legs, and succeeded. The tan wolf went toppling over and hit the ground with much force, halting his escape.

Cerberus, and the rest of his pack, surrounded the tan wolf.

"Now, little wolf, what were you doing all the way out here?" Cerberus asked with a low and terrifyingly kind voice that sent chills down the tan wolf's spine.

"I-I…. I'm l-looking for a-a friend." The tan wolf stuttered in the presence of Cerberus's lumbering figure, his large size scared him.

"A friend? You're friend is not here, but maybe we can be your friends." Cerberus grinned sadistically, showing his teeth to the wolf. Cerberus's crazed red eyes sent fear into the tan wolf.

Ios started to recognize the wolf, he had seen him before, but he couldn't find a name until it clicked.

"Terrence?" The wolf looked at Ios with a confused and look, still showing his frightened state. The wolf's expression begged Ios to get him away from here… but Ios couldn't… he couldn't betray his family.


	25. Chapter 25 Chosen Outcast

"You know this wolf?" Hati asked Ios.

Ios looked at the tan wolf he just named as Terence. The poor wolf was frightened and looked so helpless.

"I met him before, when I was with the other pack." Ios answered.

"Oh? So you wouldn't mind if I did this." Cerberus raised his paw and struck Terence's face, leaving four bleeding scratches on his muzzle.

Terence gasped as the pain hit him.

"We don't like spies. That puny little pack in which you're a part of will fall." Cerberus ginned.

"T-they'll kill you." Terence growled.

"Oh will they now? They won't know what hit them come the next full moon." Cerberus drew closer to Terence.

"That's almost two weeks away…" Terence said to himself.

"Yes, plenty of time for us to weaken your puny pack." Cerberus drew even closer to Terence who was backing away and cowering.

"P-please don't k-kill me, please! I didn't mean t-to-"

"You already know too much, oh, what a shame." Cerberus grinned evilly. "Looks like it's to late… Be sure he doesn't try to run away."

The dark wolves moved in closer to keep Terence from getting any ideas.

"W-what are you going to do t-to me?" Terence stuttered.

"It won't hurt… much." Cerberus grabbed Terence's leg with his massive jaws and shook Terence around until eventually, Terence's left foreleg snapped off.

Terence was thrown to the ground, screaming in pain as he rolled around on the ground and flailed with only three legs. Cerberus spat out the leg and walked over to Terence.

"They can't hear you, scream all you want."

"Ios! Help me!" Terence pleaded as he bled out.

"Cerberus! Stop!" Ios commanded.

Cerberus looked back at Ios. "You dare command me?" Cerberus walked up to Ios and clawed his face. "Know your place!"

Ios growled a little after Cerberus left him to go and torture Terence, who was still crying on the ground from a freshly lost limb.

"Are you afraid, little wolf?" Cerberus asked.

"Ios! Please!" Terence cried.

Ios wasn't sure if he could take Cerberus down, let alone put a paw on him because of his so called pack brothers. Everyone just stood around and watched, some with laughter, some with pity, and others with hollow gazes. But he knew one thing, this wasn't his place anymore, he didn't realize how cruel this was until he saw the pain in a familiar face.

Ios charged for Cerberus, attacking while he wasn't looking; but Cerberus whipped around and dodged Ios's attack.

Cerberus charged for Ios this time, catching Ios off guard. Cerberus sent him to the ground.

"Now, where were we?" Cerberus turned back to Terence who was whimpering in pain on the ground, tears of painful hurt could be seen dripping from his eyes.

Cerberus went up to Terence, and grabbed his stomach with his powerful jaws.

"NO!" Ios yelled, getting back up as fast as he could, but he was too late; Cerberus had ripped Terence's stomach, sending the tan wolf's insides strewn across the grass while he screamed in terror.

Cerberus laughed at the wolf's pain; his muzzle was stained with Terence's blood.

"You sick bastard!" Ios yelled as he charged for Cerberus, this time, hitting Cerberus and knocking him to the ground.

Terence cried out, blood gurgling from his through as he tried to scream. He slowly felt the pain lessen until it didn't hurt anymore. His sight began to darken, but he wasn't closing his eyes. He felt fear, a fear of death as the darkness befell him, and soon, he met his fate in a quick death.

Ios hit Cerberus again and ran over to Terence. "No…" Ios bowed his head over his friend.

"You'll pay for your aggression traitor!" Cerberus snarled at Ios.

Ios turned around and snarled back.

"I've had it with murdering innocent wolves! You are a sick wolf; I hope you're ready for your own death, because it will be by my fangs and claws!" Ios threatened.

The other wolves stood by, watching the situation unfold. Barghest felt compelled to be with his brother and protect him, but for what cause?

Skoll was surprised to see Ios do this; he didn't expect it from him.

"You won't even get the chance, pest!" Cerberus growled.

Ios turned to all of the other wolves.

"Is this how you want to live the rest of your lives?" Ios said, taking a look at Terence's lifeless body. "Killing innocents and living a life being hated by all who see you?"

They all looked at him, each wolf thought about what Ios had said.

"Of course they do, this is what we are. Those wolves have made you soft Ios. I'll enjoy killing you just like I did Grace." Cerberus interrupted.

Ios turned to Cerberus. "Grace isn't dead."

"I knew I couldn't trust you." Cerberus growled and showed his large teeth.

Ios then turned back to the group of wolves who were watching him.

"There's a better life than this; I've seen it." Ios began.

"Ios-" Barghest started as he stepped forward. "I told you that I would stand beside you no matter what happened. I'm going to keep that promise." Barghest walked forward and sat beside his brother.

"Barghest? You defiler!" Cerberus yelled in anger, his red eyes grew a new shade of a dark and eerie red.

Ios nodded and smiled to his brother. "I now know that my life has been of deeds that I will never make up for, but it doesn't have to end this way." Ios continued.

The wolves all sat quietly, looking between Ios and Barghest, then to Cerberus. It was clear that their choice was Cerberus; it was all that they knew. But one wolf's thoughts urged him differently.

Skoll took a step forward, but paused before he took another.

"Skoll?" Hati eyed him suspiciously. "What are you doing?"

"I'm… doing something right for a change." Skoll answered. He walked forward and stood next to Ios.

Fenrir then made his move forward, planting himself next to his son.

"Dad?" Skoll looked at his dad in disbelief. Fenrir only smiled.

"Anyone else, please, I'm begging you, do not continue to follow this monster!" Ios urged the other wolves, but they all stayed. They stayed from fear of Cerberus, and from uncertainty of where Ios would lead them.

"Anyone…" Ios looked at the faces of his once pack brothers; they all looked back with hollow expressions.

"You have made your choice." Cerberus growled at the four betrayers standing before him and the rest of his small pack. "Now you will all die-"

A voice interrupted. "Get them!" The voice ordered.

Cerberus snarled. "We leave, now!" He turned and ran away with his pack following him, all except Ios, Barghest, Fenrir and Skoll.

The intruding wolves surrounded them while one of the intruder wolves went to check on Terence. They looked like western and eastern wolves.

"He's dead." The wolf said.

"I can explain-" Ios began to speak but was cut off by a wolf who seemed to be in charge.

"No need, we saw what happened before anything could be done." The black, gray, and white wolf said. "We got here after we heard screaming, but were too late."

"Hutch, what do we do with them?" Ios heard a wolf ask the one in charge.

"We take them back to Garth and Lilly; they'll decide what to do with them." Hutch replied.

"They aren't going to kill us are they?" Skoll whispered to Ios, worried about things to come.

Hutch perked up his ears as he heard Skoll's comment. "That is for our pack leaders to decide." He said sternly.

"You wolves have made aggressive actions toward our pack, and for that, you will pay a price." One wolf said.

"Those wolves are running away as we speak. My friends, here with me, have nothing to do with attacking members of your pack." Ios intervened.

"And how would you kno-" One wolf began to debate.

"I was there, the wolf that Cerberus attacked was a close friend." Ios abruptly said, making the situation clear. "These wolves no longer wish to be a part of Cerberus's pack."

Most of the wolves from the western and eastern packs hadn't known the full story behind the attack and who had done it.

"Enough, let's head back." Hutch ceased all conversation between everyone. Hutch and two other wolves led the way while the rest of Hutch's search group fell back behind Ios and his three outcast pack brothers.

_Meanwhile…_

"I'm so ready to get married." Humphrey said. He and Kate were out on there own, in a part of the valley that was secluded from everywhere else, enjoying their morning alone. He was lying on his side while Kate was sitting on her haunches looking down at him.

"It already feels like we are." Kate said.

"Still, I would like it to be official." Humphrey smiled at her.

"I would too." Kate smiled back.

Their voices silenced while they listened all around them; the birds chirping, the wind flowing through the trees and grass, and the faint sound of running water.

Humphrey stared at Kate and held a half smile while he did so, the light blue sky behind her had him in aw aw.

Kate wondered why he was staring with such a goofy smile.

"What?" She asked with a chuckle, smiling as she did.

"Have I ever told you how beautiful you look?" Humphrey asked, his half smile turning into a grin.

Kate's tail wagged. "Could you say that again?" She smiled.

"You're beautiful, more than I could ever imagine." Humphrey swooned.

"That's wonderful Humphrey." She walked over to him and gave him a kiss on his cheek. "I love you."

"Not as much as I love you."

"I love you more." Kate quickly replied; walking in some random direction.

"I love you more than I need water." Humphrey stood up and followed Kate to where she was going.

"I love you more than… everything." Kate stopped and turned around, knowing she had won.

"Aww, I can't compare to that… Only that I love you more to give my life for you." Humphrey told her.

"You already have." Kate said.

"And I'll do it again." Humphrey rubbed his cheek against Kate's.

"I'm so lucky to have you." Kate said softly.

"I'm even luckier." Humphrey smiled at her.

Humphrey moved himself closer to Kate, and brought his lips to hers in a kiss.

Kate pulled away after a few seconds; something on her mind.

"Humphrey… what do you think our pups would look like?" Kate continued walking.

"Um, hmm. Cute and adorable?"

Kate giggled. "Every pup is cute and adorable. I'm wondering if they'll have my eyes or your eyes. How tall they'd grow, what their personalities would be like. I want to see them grow up and have their own families." Kate said to Humphrey.

"What ever you want Kate." Humphrey said. "You'll probably go crazy over how cute our pups will be though." Humphrey chuckled and playfully leaned on Kate as he walked.

"I think it'll be the other way around." Kate giggled, pushing Humphrey off of her.

"You could be right." Humphrey said to her.

"I've seen you play with other pups, you'll be a great dad." Kate smiled.

"You think so?" Humphrey asked.

Kate nodded. "Mhm."

"Can I name one Humphrey Jr.?" Humphrey asked, trying not to laugh.

Kate shook her head while chuckling. "I don't think so."

"Aww, what about…." Humphrey whispered a name in her ear for no apparent reason.

"That's a cute name." Kate smiled at him. "The question is..." Kate whispered in his ear this time.

"Uh, heh heh, after we're married?" Humphrey asked nervously.

"We could… or maybe we could conceive tonight."

"T-T-Tonight? Don't you think it's a little early to…" Humphrey trailed off.

"What about that night when we-"

"Yeah, I know, and that was great, but I don't think we should rush into this head first. We should have a little more fun and be together, alone, for a while. Then when we decide to, we'll have pups." Humphrey said to Kate. "But if you really want to, then how can I say no to the most beautiful wolf in the world."

"You're right Humphrey, I am kind of rushing things… and how am I the most beautiful wolf in the world?" Kate asked.

"Because I say so, and everyone else agrees." Humphrey chuckled. Humphrey stopped along with Kate. "And what about your parents? Are they fine with the idea of us…" He asked.

"No, they're too protective; well, mom is anyway." Kate answered.

"Like, how protective?" He asked.

"Rip your throat out protective." Kate answered. "If mom found out you and I did anything, she'd go ballistic."

Humphrey swallowed hard at the thought. He fell silent and so did Kate.

"What do you think will happen to Grace now that Ios is gone?" Kate asked him.

"She'll probably just live in our pack from now on. Anything can happen; you know that as much as I do." Humphrey replied.

"Yeah, but I feel sorry for her; she and Ios could have been together. But what I don't understand is him leaving without telling us… What if something happened to him?"

"He probably doesn't feel too good about what he did to Grace's family." Humphrey answered.

Kate sided up next to Humphrey as he sat down, cuddling his side.

_Elsewhere…_

Lilly and Garth were enjoying their morning together, alone, basking in the warm sun and lying on the ground cuddling each other.

"You know, in a few weeks, everyone will start to notice." Lilly said sleepily.

"There's nothing wrong with that, we love each other." Garth replied.

"Yeah but-" Garth placed a paw over Lilly's muzzle.

"As long as we're together, that's all that matters." He said.

Lilly removed his paw from her mouth. "Yeah, but-"

"But what?" Garth interrupted.

"What if… somehow, my dad knows about what happened, and sooner or later he told my mom…"

Garth felt like lurching his stomach. "Oh crap…" Garth zoned out, thinking of what kind of torture Eve would give him.

"Garth? Is everything okay?" Lilly asked him.

Garth regained his composure. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine."

Suddenly, a voice ripped through the silence of the morning, awakening sleeping birds, sending them flapping and soaring through the sky as the trees shook. The familiar voice of Lilly's mother blasted Garth's ears.

"GARTH!


	26. Chapter 26 Friends And Enemies

"Should I be worried?" Garth asked Lilly.

Lilly looked at Garth like he had asked a stupid question. "I haven't heard her that angry, you should hide until I explain everything to mom." Lilly and Garth both stood up.

Lilly started for the dens while Garth went the opposite direction.

"She won't really hurt me… will she?" Garth turned around.

Lilly stopped and looked back at Garth. "I'll make sure she won't."

Garth felt the seriousness in Lilly's voice; he started to feel that the situation was dire.

After leaving Garth to find a good hiding spot, she made her way to the dens where she thought she'd most likely find her mother in a temper tantrum.

Lilly thought right; she found her mother back at the dens, kicking up dirt, clawing trees, growling at every wolf she saw, and sniffing around for Garth's scent.

"Mom?" Lilly ask quizzically.

Eve looked at her daughter and ran over to her. "Where is he!" she said in an angry tone.

"I'm not going to let you hurt him, mother." Lilly said to her mother.

Eve changed the tone in her voice to soft and sweet. "Oh, dear, I'm not going to hurt him."

Lilly gave a sigh of relief. "Good."

"I just want to rip his throat out." Eve said, still keeping the sweet tone in her voice.

Just then, Winston appeared and sat beside Eve.

"Can you please calm down?" Winston asked.

"No, not until I rip the thing from Garth that took the innocence away from my daughter, and shove it down his throat so he can't mate again, and be considered one of the packs females!" Eve's right eye twitched from anger and stress.

Lilly and Winston both looked at each other wide eyed.

"Mom, it's my fault, Garth didn't do anything wrong." Lilly said.

"He needs to be taught a lesson." Eve scratched the ground with her claws.

"Eve, she's old enough to make her own decisions now." Winston said to Eve.

They heard rustling in the nearby trees as it sounded like leaves being crushed.

"Lilly, is it okay for me to-" Garth came walking in, but stopped as he laid his eyes on Eve. "Oh no."

Eve growled and began to crouch low.

"Garth! Run!" Lilly yelled; she ran in between her mother and Garth.

Garth screamed and ran away while Eve propelled herself over Lilly and chased Garth.

Winston sighed and went after the two with Lilly following him.

"Eve! Stop!" Winston yelled while chasing the two.

"Your crazy mother is going to kill me!" Garth yelled, running for his life.

"I'll show you crazy!" Eve screamed at him, speeding up, getting closer to him as the chase continued.

"She's right on my tail!" Garth yelled out; Eve was right behind him.

Eve then clamped her powerful jaws on Garth's tail and immediately stopped, pulling him to the ground causing Garth to yelp in pain.

"Eve, stop, now!" Winston commanded, but Eve and Garth started to fight and claw at each other.

Lilly threw herself between Garth and Eve and broke up the fight, sustaining a few cuts and bruises.

"Stop!" she screamed, gaining the attention of Garth and her mother with Winton also looking at her daughter, surprised at her outburst.

Everyone grew silent as they stared at an angry Lilly. No one said anything until Winston broke the silence.

"Eve, she's old enough to make her own decisions." Winston said.

Eve had calmed and sat on her haunches. Garth walked to Lilly and hid behind her.

"Have you ever thought about me instead of yourself for once, mother?" Lilly asked with anger.

Eve started to get teary eyed. "I always think about you Li-"

"That's not the way I see it. When Kate left to go find Humphrey, all you did was baby me and when ever you could you'd get me away from Garth." Lilly interrupted.

Eve started to cry a few tears. Winston sided up to her for comfort.

"I just want to protect my little girl…" she said, resting her head on Winston's shoulders.

"You have Eve, but it's time for her to choose for herself and do what she thinks is right. She isn't so little anymore." Winston said.

"I know…" she said.

"I know the news about what happened to Kate hurt you, Eve, but that's in the past." Winston said.

Eve looked over at Lilly. "Lilly, you know I love you, but did you two really think it through?" she asked.

"Yes, we did, and we're happy." Lilly responded.

"Alright… I'm just not ready to let go, you're growing up so fast…" Eve went over to Lilly and embraced her in a hug.

"I understand mom." Lilly and Eve parted. "But I'm fine, especially with Garth."

"And Garth… do you accept my apology?" Eve asked, looking at Garth.

Garth nodded and gave a smile. "Of course, and I wouldn't let anything happen to Lilly."

They heard the sound of flapping wings interrupt their conversation.

Marcel and Paddy landed near them, with a light grey goose behind them.

"Are we um… interrupting something?" Paddy asked.

"We were just having a family conversation." Winston answered.

"Hi guys." Lilly greeted.

"Hello Lilly." Marcel greeted back.

"Our friend here has invited us to tour in the United States for a while, play a bit of golf, and we wanted to say good bye to everyone before we left." Paddy said.

"You can't stay a little longer?" Lilly asked.

"I'm afraid not, we don't want to keep them waiting." Marcel told her.

"We haven't said goodbye to everyone just yet though, would you perhaps know where Kate and Humphrey might be?" asked Paddy.

Lilly shook her head.

"Lilly and I could go help you find them." offered Garth.

"We'll be fine looking for them on our own-" Marcel began but was cut short by Lilly.

"It's no trouble, I already have a few ideas of where Kate might be, come on." said Lilly as she walked away. Garth followed her.

"That's generous of you." Paddy said. He, Marcel, and their light gray goose friend followed the two wolves to go and look for Kate and Humphrey.

Meanwhile, Humphrey and Kate decided to play a game of hide and seek.

After Humphrey had found Kate, went to go and hide while Kate was left to count. For her to win, she'd have to find him, and tag him before he reached home, which was the tree stump at which she was counting at.

"18… 19… 20, ready or not, here I come!" yelled Kate as she removed a paw from her eyes. "Now where could you be this time…" she said with a grin as she looked around.

"She'll never find me up here." Humphrey whispered to himself. He had found his way up a tree by climbing up a large nearby rock and jumping from it to one of the tree's branches.

Kate sniffed around on the ground for Humphrey's scent. Hide and seek was particularly hard for her species since they could track scents easily with their sharply tuned nose, but it made the game a bit more interesting, like using a river to hide scent and tracks or back tracking if there was enough time.

But Humphrey was a very clever omega, and the tree he found was the perfect hiding spot.

She continued to search for the right scent to follow, being sure it was the right one, she followed it until she came up on a large rock.

"Hmm?" she curiously sniffed at the rock and wondered why Humphrey's scent was around that area.

Humphrey put a paw over his muzzle quietly, trying not to chuckle at the fooled alpha. For once he had outsmarted Kate, but then, he heard what sounded like familiar voices in the distance.

"Oh, there she is." it sounded like Lilly. "Kate! Over here!"

"Coming!" he heard Kate say. Humphrey watched as Kate sprinted off in the direction of her sister's voice.

Humphrey let out a disappointed sigh because it could be important, but he didn't want to leave his perfect hiding spot.

While Humphrey was still hiding, Kate had met up with Lilly and Garth, who had helped Marcel and Paddy search for her. She stared oddly at the light grey goose that followed them.

"Hey, what's going on?" Kate asked as she sat down with the four.

"We'll excuse our selves." Lilly said as she and Garth left.

"Marcel and I are leaving Jasper to head south; some old friends of ours are touring in the United States and they invited us." Paddy said.

"You're leaving?" Kate asked. Her ears fell low against her head.

"Just for a month or two; we'll visit here from time to time." Marcel said.

Kate looked curiously at the light gray goose behind them.

"This is one of those friends we mentioned, he flew all this way to invite us." Paddy said.

"Well, anyway, we wanted to say good bye to you and Humphrey before we left." Paddy said.

"Humphrey's somewhere… we were playing hide and seek." Kate giggled. "Only I can't find him."

"Need any help?" Marcel asked with a chuckle.

"Sure." Kate smiled.

Marcel and Paddy followed as Kate trotted towards the tree she had left.

"I think he's hiding somewhere around here." Humphrey heard Kate say from beneath him.

He looked down and saw Marcel and Paddy with him.

Marcel and Paddy looked around the tree and the large rock next to it.

"Hmm." Marcel thought to himself; he tilted his head slightly to glimpse upwards and saw movement.

He made his way to Kate and leaned in to whisper. "Look up."

Kate gave him a bewildered look at first, but then it turned into a grin. She walked away, making herself scarce and unnoticed by Humphrey.

Humphrey watched as she left out of sight into the cover of the tree's leaves. "Where'd she go?" He whispered to himself.

He continued to search below him for any signs of Kate.

"Right here!" Humphrey jumped. Keeping his balance on the wide branch, he whipped around to find Kate; she pounced on him and they both fell out of the tree and landed with a heavy thud.

"Oh, ow. Was that really necessary?" Humphrey asked. He stood up and nursed his bruised limbs.

"Sorry, couldn't help it." Kate smiled, brushing her self off.

The two heard Marcel clear his throat.

"Oh, hey Marcel." Humphrey greeted.

"Good day, Humphrey." Paddy greeted.

"I'm sure you heard our conversation?" Marcel asked.

"Yes. I'll miss you guys." Humphrey answered. "Have fun too."

"We plan to." Marcel said.

The light gray goose walked up and whispered something to Paddy.

"We must go if we're going to make it halfway there before sundown." Paddy said.

"We'll see you in a few weeks." Marcel added.

"Goodbye." Kate said.

Kate and Humphrey watched as Marcel, Paddy, and the light grey goose take flight and soar in the sky until they went out of sight.

"Alone again." Humphrey said.

"Yup. Nice hiding spot by the way."

"It would have been even better if you wouldn't have had anyone to help you."

"Do you think we should head back? It's midday and I'm getting hungry." Kate said.

"I'm feeling that way too."

_Later that day…_

"How are you feeling Grace?" Kate asked as she walked into the main den which housed Grace and Kelsa.

"I feel fine, but your mom won't let me leave." Grace huffed.

Kate walked forward to look at Grace's wounds. They had healed tremendously fast, but they were still visible.

"How long did she say she'd keep you inside?" Kate asked.

"At least by tomorrow, then I can get out of here and wash this crud off of my fur." Grace said, referring to the dirt in her fur.

"I thought you liked you're look." said Kate.

"It's itchy and it doesn't feel very good." Grace said.

Kate looked over to Kelsa who was silently sitting at one side of the den.

"You want to go introduce you to that friend of mine now?" Kate asked her.

Kelsa looked up at her and nodded her head with a slight smile.

"Well come on, let's go see if we can find him." Kate said. "Will you be fine here alone for a while, Grace?"

"Oh don't worry about me, I'm just want Kelsa make some friends." said Grace.

"Will do." Kate replied. She and Kelsa both walked out of the den and started off searching through all of the other smaller dens and asked all of the alphas.

"Hmm, where could he be? He's usually around here somewhere." Kate said to herself.

Kelsa followed Kate closely, looking at all of the other wolves as they walked by them.

"Let's go check with my dad, he should know." said Kate.

They didn't notice Winston walking up on them.

"What is it that I should know?" Winston asked.

Kate looked behind her. "Oh, hi dad. Do you know where Hutch is?"

Kelsa thought to herself. She didn't know who Hutch was, but if Kate said he was alright, then she'd try to be friendly. She needed to open herself up if she wanted to be socially acceptable. Kelsa wasn't really one to make friends and she knew it, but she was willing to try.

"He's out searching for Ios; he should be back any minute now." Winston replied.

"We'll wait. Is that okay with you Kelsa?" Kate asked.

Kelsa nodded.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"You three stay here, Ios, you follow me." Hutch commanded.

Barghest, Skoll and Fenrir complied and stayed with the other wolves guarding them.

Ios followed Hutch into the den area of the valley.

"Where are we going?" Ios asked as he caught up to Hutch.

"I'm going to find Winston or Garth and tell them the news." Hutch replied.

"Hey Hutch! There you are." Hutch watched as Kate came running up to him with a white wolf with a dark blue colored back walking in no hurry to catch up to her.

"Kate, is there something you need?" Hutch asked as he and Ios stopped.

"I wanted to introduce you to someone- Ios?" Kate looked at Ios.

"Hey Kate…" Ios said slowly.

"You had everyone worried!" Kate yelled.

"I know, but I-"

"And not to mention Grace, she thought you went and did something stupid."

"I wouldn't do that." Ios said.

"You kind of did." Hutch interrupted.

"What did he do?" Kate asked Hutch.

"Go back and get them Ios." Hutch commanded. Ios complied and walked back.

After Ios left, Hutch turned to Kate. "And we've lost one of our own today; Terence was killed by the rival pack's leader. It was too late when we arrived there."

Kate sighed. "I don't want to be the one to tell his parents."

"I will; he was my responsibility." Hutch said.

"Before I forget, I wanted to introduce you to Kelsa." Kelsa stood behind Kate.

"Why?" asked Hutch.

"Well, because she's shy and not very good at making friends. Could you introduce her to some of the other wolves?" Kate asked.

"Winston might need me to-"

"I'll take care of that, you just go let her meet some of the others and let her spend some time with you." said Kate.

Hutch looked at Kelsa.

"Sure." said Hutch.

Kate turned around and looked at Kelsa. "Hutch will introduce you to some of the other wolves."

Kelsa stood awkwardly, not moving.

Kate sighed and walked behind Kelsa then nudged her forward.

Hutch started walking towards the dens.

"Go one Kelsa, he won't hurt you. Go meet the others." Kate urged.

Kelsa walked off and followed Hutch.

"Hey, where did Hutch go?" Kate heard Ios ask.

She turned her head around to find a large group of wolves before her, three of them she did not recognized but she knew they belonged to the rival pack.

"What happened? Did you capture them?" Kate asked.

"No, we're switching sides." Ios said.

Kate looked the three dark colored wolves over; they seemed unsettled and nervous about their situation. "What do you mean by we?"

"I went back to Cerberus, but I was wrong in doing that, I decided to leave and these three followed me. We don't want to live like that anymore." Ios replied sincerely.

"Let's go talk to my father." said Kate.

"Wait, where's Grace?" Ios asked quickly.

"She's where she was after you left; you can see her when we're done talking with my dad." said Kate.

Kate, Ios, and the rest of the wolves proceeded with Kate to find her father.

_Meanwhile…_

Eve walked into the main den to find Grace walking around.

"Grace." Eve caught Grace's attention. "Since you seem well enough, I'll let you leave. On one condition; go wash the dirt from your fur."

"Finally!" Grace bolted through the entrance, heading for the nearest stream she could find.

"Don't hurt your self." Eve called to Grace.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"What does this Cerberus plan to do?" asked Winston to Fenrir. Winston noted that Fenrir seemed to be the more knowledgeable between Barghest and Skoll.

An assembly had been called. Ios sat behind Winston, Tony, Garth, and Lilly with Kate and Humphrey, and about half of the pack's alphas were surrounding them. Hutch and Kelsa decided to drop in and sat down with Kate and Humphrey.

"He plans to destroy this pack." Fenrir answered.

"What does he wish to gain from that?" Winston asked.

"Enjoyment and self satisfaction." replied Fenrir.

"What could drive a wolf that far to insanity?" Winston asked himself.

"From what he's told me, he was born that way." Fenrir said.

"Did he say when he'd attack?" Garth asked.

"The next full moon." Fenrir replied.

"That's nearly a week away, we should prepare." one of the alphas said.

"They don't stand a chance, their numbers are too few." another alpha said.

"We should take the fight to them!" a wolf yelled.

All of the wolves began to chatter angrily and loudly.

"Silence!" Winston commanded. The conversations stopped.

"It is not our way to attack another pack; Cerberus's pack is too small to attack us, it would be suicide if he tried to." Winston said.

"You don't know Cerberus; he'll do anything to get revenge over even the most insignificant thing." Skoll said.

"Quiet Skoll." Barghest whispered.

"But it's true, he'll attack no matter what, even if it's just himself taking on an entire pack." Skoll continued.

"In that case, we'll keep every alpha on alert. We will prepare for their attack." Garth said.

"Do you really think all of the other wolves in Cerberus's pack will follow him if he went through with his attack?" Kate asked.

"They all fear him; they will if they have no courage." Barghest answered.

"They'd rather fight for their lives than bring Cerberus's wrath upon them." Ios added.

"Is there any way we can reason with him?" Lilly asked.

"He can not be reasoned with." Fenrir answered.

"Cerberus is to powerful for one wolf to take on alone, we'll have to surround him and wear him down." said Skoll. "After that, he'll have to submit to either death, or surrender."

"And what about his other followers?" Ios asked. "They were our friends…"

"They have chosen their fate." Fenrir said solemnly.

"You gave them the chance, Ios, but they refused. It's their fault if they follow Cerberus." Barghest said.

"Alphas stay on alert. We can't let our guard down." Tony ordered.

The alphas around them dispersed and went in different ways.

Those who were left made their own circle to talk about the issues.

"I don't like any of this." Humphrey said.

"Me neither." Kate said.

"It's something we must deal with. Protecting the omegas is a priority; we don't want to loose another like we lost Terence." Winston said.

"That was my fault… I could have done something about it, but I hesitated." Ios said sadly. "Terence and I had just started to become friends."

"It wasn't your fault Ios, we all saw you fight Cerberus, there was nothing you could do." Skoll said.

"You weren't the ones who had to tell the news to Terence's heart broken parents." Garth said.

"Enough." Tony interrupted.

"Let's go about our day with caution, and keep a look out for anything suspicious." Winston said.

A low chatter rose between them all as they dispersed.

Winston went back to find Eve with Garth and Lilly following him.

Tony decided to go and check on some of the alphas on look out.

Kelsa had followed Hutch the entire time, sticking to him like she did her sister; growing attached to him quickly because she liked how he was kind and easier than most to talk to.

Barghest, Skoll, and Fenrir were granted amnesty and merged in with the pack. They were free to roam about and meet some of the other wolves. But they had to prove themselves to everyone that they were on the same side.

Humphrey and Kate had started off for the dens until Ios caught up to them.

"Are you going to go see Grace?" Ios asked.

"We were going to stop by, why?" Kate asked.

"No reason… Mind if I come along?"

"Sure." Humphrey replied.

Kate and Humphrey went about what they planned to do with Ios following them.

They passed by alphas who were out patrolling and guarding the pack. Some were speaking to other alphas and omegas alike, making small talk and passing the time.

**xxxXXXxxx**

Grace had slowed her running pace to a walk as she made her way out of the valley's den area.

She passed by other wolves who didn't seem to notice her at all until she came up on two other female wolves who passed be.

"Ew, some wolves should stay in the den where they belong." Grace heard one of the female wolves say.

"She looks lower than an omega." she heard the other say.

"Just wait 'till I get this dirt off me; you'll be eating those words." Grace mumbled.

Grace hadn't been shown around the valley since she was attacked and kept in that den, so she had the chance to do much exploring, but she didn't want to ask anyone for directions either.

"_I'll just look around until I find a stream."_ Grace thought, but another thought intruded in.

"_Ios… If everyone has done their best to find him… then he really is gone. I hope he's okay…" _

The sound of flowing water emanated faintly. Grace followed the sound as it got louder; it led her through a tree line into the forest.

The sound grew louder until it came to a soft roar of trickling water. Making her way through to a clearing beside the base of a cliff was a small waterfall which emptied into a small pool at its base which led into a stream.

"Wow…" Grace marveled at the clear pristine water in the pool. She walked up to it and was able to see her reflection.

"I guess those wolves were right, I do look lower than an omega… what was I thinking?" Grace said to herself. "But this place is beautiful."

She slowly walked forward into the pool, disrupting the water's calm state; causing ripples.

"It's so cool." She said as she waded around in the pool of water the dirt fizzled off of her body and was left to the surface until it became waterlogged and sank to the bottom. The deepest part of the pool was only a foot or two deep, enough for her to dive into and get her face clean. After that she decided to get under the waterfall and bathe.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Where's she go?" Kate asked her mother. She, Humphrey and Ios had made it to the main den where Grace was, but they found out that she was no longer there.

Eve shrugged. "After I told her she could go, she ran out. I had suggested to her that she should go wash the dirt off of her."

"So she'd be near some water." said Humphrey.

"Maybe you should go and surprise her, Ios, if no one has told her that you're here, then she won't see it coming." Kate suggested.

"I'll go see if I can find her." Ios said. He put his nose to the ground and searched for Grace's scent.

"Found it." He said. He started to follow his nose.

"Good luck." Humphrey said. Ios kept walking with his nose to the ground.

"I wonder where Kelsa is…" Kate said.

"I saw her running around with Hutch, do you have anything to do with that?" asked Humphrey.

"I might have…" Kate trailed off smiling.

"They'll just be friends, you know that right? Hutch is too serious for a relationship, like all alphas are." Humphrey said.

"Like all alphas are? If I didn't know better, I'd say you were becoming a little more serious ever since we've been together." Kate said.

"Well everything is kind of serious, isn't it?" Humphrey asked.

"I guess so."

**xxxXXXxxx**

"I feel like an outsider here." Skoll said. He and his father were sitting closly by a tree away from all of the other wolves who were settling down at their dens in the late afternoon.

"All three of us do, son." Fenrir said.

"Where's your brother, Barghest?" Skoll asked. Barghest was sitting and leaning against the tree.

"He's somewhere around here, greeting the others. I'm sure everyone here is glad to see him back." Barghest replied.

"Yeah… he's changed a lot since we last saw him." Skoll said.

"Friends changed him." Barghest said.

"You sure it wasn't being hit by a car that changed him?" Skoll asked.

"I can't tell; we don't know what happened after we left him on the road." Barghest said.

"And now look at him, he has everything a wolf could ever want." Skoll said.

"Are you jealous, Skoll?" Barghest asked.

"I didn't say that."

"We all want to change our lives and make up for everything we've done, but we should also be happy Ios." Fenrir said.

"_Maybe I can go and make some new friends; then dad would be proud of me." _thought Skoll.

"I'll go start doing that now." Skoll got up and walked towards a group of wolves. One of them was big and heavy set, another looked skinny and the last was short.

As Skoll walked towards them, they noticed his forthcoming.

"Oh jeesh, are we supposed to run?" Skoll heard the short one ask.

Skoll sat with them with distance between him and them. "Hello." He greeted.

"Uh, hey." the skinny one said. His voice was a bit dreary.

"Hi." the short one said. His voice was higher pitched and a little nasally.

"Hello." the large wolf greeted, his voice was low toned.

"Shakey, is he supposed to be here?" the skinny one whispered. Skoll heard it.

"I'm a new member of the pack…" said Skoll.

"Oh, well in that case, what's your name?" The big wolf asked.

"Skoll." He answered.

"I'm Shakey, this is Salty, and Mooch." Shakey said.

"Since you're new, you need an initiation. Wolf pile!" Mooch yelled.

Salty, Shakey, and Mooch all jumped into the air and landed on Skoll one by one.

Fenrir and Barghest chuckled at the site.

"He certainly has a way of making friends." Barghest said.

"Yes, he does." Fenrir said.

"He's a good kid." Barghest said.

"He is, but he can be stubborn sometimes."

"I'd guess that he's trying to get your attention."

"Why do say that?" Fenrir asked curiously.

"Just a feeling." said Barghest.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"_She's gotta be around here somewhere, these tracks are fresh, and they have her scent."_ Ios thought.

He continued to sniff around, following the paw prints through a forest until her heard the sound of trickling of water.

"_She must be around here."_ Ios thought again.

The tricking became faintly louder as he continued forward until he soon breached through the trees to a clearing which revealed a water fall and a pool with a stream leading from it.

"This place is nice…" Ios said to himself. "But Grace isn't here."

He looked around the pool; seeing the crystal clear water, but he also saw an imperfection. A thin layer of dusted dirt lay upon the water's surface.

"_She could have left already."_ he thought.

Something caught his eye as he scanned over the waterfall.

Under the trickling water was a red blur. He could faintly make out the figure; it must have been Grace. He walked around the pool towards the waterfall, but he stopped when he heard a humming melody.

Ios then thought about what Kate had said; surprising her would be a good way to say hello.

He slinked his body into the water and dove under, holding his breath and making his way to the waterfall.

Grace continued to hum an out of tune melody as she let the water drench her.

She felt she had enough of it for a while, so she went inside under the waterfall.

"Hmm, it's kind of like a cave in here." Grace said to herself.

She looked out at the water; she could see through it like glass. She was too busy staring at the clear blanket of water that she didn't see the black blur under the surface of the water she was in.

Ios was able to sneak in behind her and surface. Surprisingly, Grace still hadn't noticed him.

"Grace…" He said softly.

Grace gasped and whipped around.

"Ios?" Grace said with surprise on her face.

He smiled; both of them were drenched, but his joy was short lived when he saw Grace pounce on him and forced him under water.


	27. Chapter 27 Honey I'm Home

Ios struggled with his eyes closed as Grace held him under the water; he panicked and fought back; using his paws to push Grace off. But he stopped when he felt a soft touch on his mouth that held itself in place.

He opened his eyes under the water to see Grace above him, the end of her muzzle conjoined in a kiss. The two enjoyed the closeness and the sensual intensity of the kiss reverberating through their bodies with a tingling feeling that shuddered through their forms; like they were in paradise.

Grace ended it and pulled Ios up and out of the water. He gasped for breath when she did so.

"Ios! I thought you weren't coming back!" Grace pushed Ios back into the water.

He surfaced. "Some people would just hug… but that works too." He grinned slyly.

"Oh shut up. Why'd you leave in the first place?" Grace asked.

"To-"

"To get away from me, right? I knew you'd do something after I told you what happened." Grace interrupted.

"I already knew everything, even before you told me. It all came back to me." Ios said.

"So you… came back even though you knew everything?" asked Grace.

"Yup."

"But why'd you leave?"

"Because I thought that I didn't belong with anyone but them." Ios replied.

"Them? You mean Cerberus and the others? You are not one of them, you're completely different, they're monsters."

"I know that now and I'm sorry for leaving."

"Apology accepted." Grace said.

"What was with the kiss thing?" Ios asked, stumping Grace in her train of thought.

"Oh um… what, best friends can't kiss?" Grace stood up and made her way out of the waterfall and the pool to dry land; avoiding eye contact with Ios as she did so.

"Uh, no. They can't. I didn't know I was your best friend either; what happened when I was gone?" Ios asked.

"Nothing really… how does my neck look, I can't see it." Grace said, hoping Ios wouldn't continue the subject.

"Oh, let me see." Ios got closer to her and inspected her neck. "Only a few days and it has healed almost completely. Could it be a miracle?"

"Really?" Grace shook her fur dry. She then walked over to a spot where the late sun shown and let its radiant glow dry the remaining water from her body. Ios did the same and sat beside her.

"He's going to come back." Ios said, turning to look at her.

She did the same. "He can't hurt us if we're together."

"One reason why I left was because I didn't want Cerberus to hurt you." Ios confessed.

"Why?" Grace asked.

"Because I thought that if I knew what he planned to do, I'd be able to stop him." Ios answered.

"No, not that, I meant why you did it for me." Grace said.

"_I should really learn to keep my mouth shut sometimes…" _Ios turned his head away from her.

"Well?" Grace persisted.

"Um, I didn't want to see my best friend get hurt again." Ios answered.

"Since when did we become best friends?" Grace joked.

"Very funny." Ios said sarcastically.

"We should really get back; they'll think Cerberus attacked us or something." Grace said.

Ios looked back at her and stared at Grace; he had noticed that her fur was dry and the sleepy sun was giving her figure a beautiful angelic look. He only remembered her with the dirt, but without it, he had forgotten what she looked like underneath all of the dirt.

"Hello? Ios? Are you okay?" Grace asked, nudging him a bit with her paw.

"Oh um.. Yeah, let's go." Ios broke eye contact and stood up, walking in some random direction.

"Ios, it's 'this' way." Grace corrected.

"I knew that…" Ios changed his course and followed Grace.

"Of course you did." Grace said. _"What's wrong with him? Is he going crazy? He was staring at me…"_

Ios followed behind at a distance, thinking about what had happened._ "Why would I even do that, ugh. We're just friends, nothing… more…" _

"_That means… if I wanted to, I could make him mine. Wait… what am I saying, he and I don't have anything between us. But Kate did say we would be great together…" _Grace continued to think.

Ios noticed something different in the way Grace walked, she swayed her hips in a seductive manner that intrigued him in the slightest, but his interest grew and he became so enveloped in the eye candy that he didn't catch Grace looked back at him.

Grace continued to move her hips in that fashion and moved the end of her tail from side to side slowly, content with herself that she had just seduced Ios, but she didn't know he was so easily manipulated; she could use that to her advantage if she wanted to.

Ios took notice at what he was doing and shook his head in frustration and embarrassment, mostly in embarrassment. Grace grinned to herself.

The two continued on with their silent trek.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Thanks for letting me meet some of the others here." Kelsa said. She and Hutch had sat down together close to the den area, but far enough from earshot.

"No problem, that's what friends are for." Hutch replied with a smile.

"I think you're really hot." Kelsa said. She didn't seem to notice it.

Hutch looked at her strangely. "Thank... you?"

Kelsa gasped. "Did I just say that out loud?"

Hutch nodded.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay, I don't mind." Hutch said. He smiled at her.

Kelsa felt like she had just dropped a brick on her foot. She also felt a little nervous; she wondered what Hutch thought of her now.

"I really should get back to my sister… she's probably looking for me." Kelsa said.

"Oh, okay, see you tomorrow then. Bye Kelsa." Hutch said.

"Bye Hutch." Kelsa stood up and walked off, leaving Hutch by his lonesome.

"_She's kind of nice, and cute."_ Hutch thought. _"Cute? Come on Hutch, you're an alpha, act like one and think like one, you don't have time for any of this." _

Hutch contemplated his thoughts a little further before getting up and walking to a group of alphas on lookout.

_Meanwhile…_

"I can't believe I said that, and in front of him! That was so embarrassing!" Kelsa said to herself.

She didn't notice Kate walk up to her.

"Hey Kelsa, how'd it go with Hutch?" She asked.

Kelsa shook her head.

"What happened?" Kate asked. She and Kelsa stopped to sit down.

"I said something…" Kelsa trailed off.

"What did you say?"

"I kind of.. said that I… liked him." Kelsa said.

"Well that wasn't so bad, how'd did he take it?" Kate asked.

"I didn't really say it that way though…"

"How did you say it?" Kate asked further.

"I accidentally said it out loud." Kelsa said as she welled herself with courage. "I told him that I think he's hot…"

"What did he say?" Kate continued.

"I said I was sorry for saying so, but he said he didn't mind it." Kelsa explained.

"Then he probably thinks that you're hot too." Kate said.

"Huh?" Kelsa looked at Kate with a confused expression.

"He likes you back."

"You really think so?" Kelsa asked hopefully

"Mhm, but just be good friends first." said Kate.

"Okay…" Kelsa started to look around.

"Looking for your sister? She left, she'll be back in a bit; you can wait in my parent's den if you want to." Kate said.

"Okay then." Kelsa said.

**xxxXXXxxx**

The sun was setting slowly, hiding from the valley and casting elongated shadows.

"Slow poke, let's go, we're here." Grace called back to Ios.

"I'm coming… Oh, there's something I should tell you first." Ios said.

"What?" Grace asked.

Before Ios could answer, a dark colored wolf appeared in front of her. "Hello, Grace."

"AH!" Grace screamed, growled and pounced on the wolf.

"No, no, no Grace! He's a good guy!" Ios said as he tried to pry Grace from his brother, Barghest.

"Get her off of me!" Barghest yelled from under Grace.

"I'm trying!" Ios was finally able to throw Grace from Barghest. Grace got back up and growled again, baring her teeth.

"Grace, it's all right, this is what I wanted to tell you." Ios said. Grace stopped growling and baring her teeth.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"A few of the wolves from Cerberus's pack followed me when I left that pack, they're a part of this pack now, and they won't hurt anyone." Ios explained.

"I wouldn't trust him." Grace said, staring at Barghest with anger.

"He's my brother; of course I'd trust him." Ios said.

"All I wanted to do was say hello, and you attack me without warning. What did I do to you?" Barghest asked.

"Murder my pack." Grace spat.

"I regret it." Barghest said.

Grace looked back at Ios and remembered what he had done to her family.

"I need to be alone." Grace said. She walked off leaving Ios and Barghest.

"What's wrong with her?" Barghest asked.

"I don't know, but I'm going to go find out." Ios said, starting off for Grace.

"I wouldn't do that, she wanted to be alone." Barghest said.

"Girls don't always mean what they say." Ios said.

Ios ran after Grace to see what he could do to help.


	28. Chapter 28 Another Night

"The wedding will have to wait until everything is back to normal." Kate said. She was lying inside a small den with Humphrey. The sun was just above the horizon, shedding just enough light to see slightly through the orange haze it radiated.

"Yeah, we shouldn't get married when there's a pack out there who wants to kill us." Humphrey said.

"What if… What if they do kill us? Then we'll never get the chance to get married…"

"Kate, don't think like that, we will get married after this is over, I promise you. We'll make it through life, and have puppies, and see them grow up and have their own families, and then grow old together, just like you said."

"That's sweet Humphrey." Kate smiled.

"You are too." Humphrey said.

The two kissed and settled in to get up early in the morning.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Grace…" Ios said.

Grace had walked on her own to a spot that was quiet and lonely. She sat their in a slump of depressive confusion as she bowed her head to the ground.

"Will you tell me what's wrong, Grace?" Ios asked. He walked up closer and sat in front of her.

"No… leave me alone." Grace said.

"Alright, I'll just go then." Ios said. He got up and started to walk away.

There was a silent pause that told Grace to think.

"Wait… there is something." she said.

Ios stopped and turned to look at her. "Yes?"

"Do you remember the night you killed my family?" she asked.

Ios felt hurt at her comment. "Yes, I do. I'm sorry that I did it, and I wish I could go back and fix everything and make it right… but I can't."

"Ios… is there anything going on between us?" Grace asked him.

Ios walked over and sat beside her. "I don't know what you mean."

"You know… us being more than friends?" Grace asked, making her point clear.

"Oh, I-… Grace, that can't happen." Ios said.

"I know… I miss them." she said.

"They cared for you; I could at least say that for them. They'd want you to move on." Ios said.

"Ios, I wanted to tell you this, but I never had the chance to." Grace cleared her throat. "I don't hate you for doing what you did, and I care for you."

Ios shook his head. "Grace, you know we can't be together… you're better off with someone else."

"_Oh please let us be talking about the same thing…"_ Ios thought.

"But no one else has the same tie as we do; I've wanted to kill you ever since that night, it changed into something else." Grace said.

"I know what this is leading to, Grace, but I won't let it happen, I don't want to hurt you again." Ios said sympathetically.

"But you didn't hurt me, if anything… you…"

"Grace?"

"Forget it. Let's go." said Grace.

"She's impossible to talk to, I wish I could do something." Ios thought. He followed Grace to find a den to sleep in. She would sleep in the main den while Ios decided to sleep under the stars.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Are you alright, Kelsa? You've been quit since you've been here." Winston said. He, Eve, Tony, and Kelsa were in the main den.

Kelsa smiled. "I'm fine, just waiting for my sister."

She had been told of Barghest, Fenrir, and Skoll's arrival into the pack, but she ignored and avoided them. Kelsa hadn't taken much notice to them either due to being busy with Hutch.

Hutch was a nice guy, he was kind and he listened. He was a good friend to have since he was respected by everyone around the pack, but most of all, how attractive he was with his alpha muscle and that strong and proud face with the stature too. Remembering what Kate said, she thought about what she could do tomorrow with Hutch if he was free of any alpha duties; them just being friends, she planned a day of hanging with all of the other wolves.

Kelsa was drawn from her thoughts as she saw her sister walk in.

"Grace, you're back." Kelsa said. She noticed her sister didn't seem so cheerful. As Grace sat down, her sister sided up to her.

"What's wrong?" Kelsa asked.

"Nothing, Kels, just tired is all." Grace lied.

"I'm here if you want to talk." Kelsa said.

Grace sighed and laid down. "I just miss mom and dad."

"I do too." Kelsa said in a sad voice.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Hey Ios… what are you doing out here?" Skoll asked as he saw Ios walking towards him.

Barghest, Skoll, and Fenrir were sleeping outside in the open because no one offered them a den to sleep in, and they really didn't want to impose by asking.

The sun had set quickly, turning the remainder of the day to night with moonlight casting shadows in the eerie darkness.

"I didn't want to leave you guys alone." Ios said.

"But you can be sleeping in a den like all the others, why would you sleep outside?" Skoll asked.

"Because he doesn't want us to feel alone." Fenrir answered.

"We aren't alone, we have each other." Skoll said.

"He alone in our own group; all the other wolves don't like us." Barghest replied.

"Oh…" Skoll said.

The four were lying on the ground in silence for a time while they contemplated on their thoughts.

"Y'know, Cerberus is just crazy enough to go through with his plans of attacking this pack, even if he and those who follow him are killed." Fenrir said, interrupting the silence.

"I don't get it, why would they follow him if they knew they were going to be out numbered?" Skoll asked.

"Because they fear Cerberus, son, they fear him enough that if they had the choice of either being killed by Cerberus, or too take their chances with fighting overwhelming odds, they'll do what ever he says." Fenrir answered.

"Then when Ios went up against Cerberus, why didn't he get killed?" Skoll asked.

"Ios is just strange like that, he can't be killed." Barghest joked with a chuckle.

"Careful brother, I'll take it on chance and luck that I've even survived this far." Ios said.

"Or… perhaps, there is someone watching over you." Fenrir said.

"Like a guardian?" Ios asked in an intrigued manner.

"Could be, no one is that lucky." Barghest said.

"If I do have a guardian, I hope it's watching out for others than just me." Ios said. He put his head on the ground and closed his eyes.

"I'm ready to fight Cerberus, I can take him." Skoll said.

"You're really confident, or you're an idiot." Ios opened his eyes.

"But I can, I've seen him fight, I can take him down." Skoll said.

"Let's hope we never have to fight Cerberus at all." Fenrir said.

"He will attack, but he will die." Barghest interrupted.

"We'll be ready, we can take Cerberus together. If we can get him alone and surrounded, all four of us can kill him with little effort." Ios said.

"Plans don't always go as planned, Ios." Barghest said to Ios.

"Well Cerberus is too strong for one wolf to kill." Ios replied.

"Then it'll have to be the closest wolves next to him who must kill him." Fenrir said.

**xxxXXXxxx**

Humphrey awoke; his heart racing and his mind panicked.

"Kate?" Humphrey noticed that he was alone in the den, by himself. He looked around the den and found no trace of Kate.

Humphrey walked to the entrance of the den and exited; still on the search for Kate.

He scanned from his right and found nothing, then he scanned to his left and found a golden colored wolf sitting proudly, staring up at the moon and the stars accompanying it.

He walked up to her, noticing that her fur would shine from the moon's caressing beams.

"Whoa…" Humphrey said out loud.

Kate hadn't noticed Humphrey. "Oh, hey sweetie."

"What are you doing up?" Humphrey sat next to Kate and cuddled next to her.

Kate enjoyed their closeness. "I couldn't sleep."

"Why did you wake me up? I would have stayed up with you." Humphrey asked.

"I'm scared." Kate stated.

"What ever it is, I'll protect you." said Humphrey.

"It's not anything you can protect me from… at least I think." Kate explained. "It's the future I'm scared of, what if something goes wrong?"

"Nothing will go wrong, Kate." Humphrey said with great certainty. "Don't think about it too much, I don't like seeing you like this."

Kate sighed slowly and perked her ears slightly. "You're right." Kate kissed Humphrey on the cheek.

"Aw." Humphrey kissed her on the lips.

"Humphrey…" Kate giggled as she pulled away.

"What? Bad timing?" Humphrey asked jokingly.

"No… you're just… really cute." Kate answered as she stared at him.

"Cute?" Humphrey asked in a detested way. "I thought I was handsome…"

"You're everything to me Humphrey." Kate replied.

"Well you're everything I'll ever need. Except for food… and water… "

Kate laughed with a giggle. "I don't know what I'd be without you."

"I know what I'd be without you." Humphrey said.

"Oh? What would that be?" Kate asked.

"Sad and alone… Like when I left." Humphrey replied.

"I couldn't stand for you to go through that again, not my Humphrey." Kate said, smiling at him.

"I don't care how many times I've said this, but I love you."


	29. Chapter 29 Early Dawn Awakening

A quiet morning in the dawning sun, a yawn broke the silence of the brisk morning as a wolf woke. Ios looked around him sleepily, seeing his friends and brother sleeping around him.

"_Looks like you'll be starting the day alone for a while."_ Ios thought to himself.

He stood up, groaning and stretching; being carefully quiet not to wake any of his sleeping friends. Ios got up to make his way away from the others to wake the parts of him which were still in a slumber; taking a light stroll from the dens to quench his dry throat and sooth his raspy voice.

He found a peace in the valley that he hadn't felt before. He didn't understand what the feeling was, but it felt warm and inviting as he looked around, seeing the suns rays glittering down upon his surroundings.

Ios wasn't much attentive in his forward direction and didn't notice his collision course with another being, which also wasn't paying attention.

Ios heard a slight sound and jerked his head around just as the other wolf did, knocking their heads together.

Ios yelped and whimpered in slight pain.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Ios noted that the voice sounded from his friend Grace.

"_Just friends."_ He though. "You're up early." Ios broke a slight awkwardness that he felt, but Grace shrugged.

"So are you." Grace sat in front of him, consciously blocking his way as she gave him a smile that gave a look of superiority, but it only hid the worry in her eyes.

"Mind telling me where you're going this time?" she asked with a raised brow.

Ios looked at her in an innocent way. "I wasn't going anywhere." he attempted to move past her, but she only stood up and sat back down in his path.

Ios sighed. "What?" he asked.

"You know exactly what," she stated, "I want to know where you're going."

"Last time I checked, you weren't my mom." Ios said with a huff, avoiding looking into her eyes, averting the stern and irritated look he gave him.

"Maybe I'd like to know where you are sometimes." Grace scoffed back at him.

"Why?" Ios asked, looking at her through the corner of his eye.

"Because I don't want anything bad to happen like last time. Remember? A wolf was killed." Grace stated to him.

Ios remembered what had happened because of his choice; his mistake. "I know, it was my fault."

"It wasn't your fault, but if you hadn't run off, then there would have been no need for these wolves to have risked their safety to find you."

Ios sighed once more. "Okay, so is that all you're worried about?" he asked with full intent

Grace avoided the question.

"Now, where were you off to?" Grace persisted in asking.

Ios groaned in appalled disbelief, shaking his head, "I'm going to get some water," he said, "too much to ask?"

"Was that so hard?" Grace asked sarcastically.

"Now can I go?" Ios asked.

"I'm coming with you."

_Just friends, nothing more._ Ios thought. "Fine, let's go," he said. "I'm tired of fighting with you."

"Great." She moved from his path and let him through, promptly following him. Content with her actions, Grace smiled to herself for the act of persuading Ios. He wasn't easily persuaded by other beings, but for some reason, he let her get away with it without much resistance, and Grace knew it. She planned to use it to her advantage, even if Ios was against himself being in a relationship with Grace knowing he had hurt her a long time ago. Grace had overcome the grief of the tragedy in which befell her parents.

Sighing along with the soft padding of their paws on the ground, Grace eventually caught up to Ios and with every step, getting closer to Ios, setting him in an uncomfortable state of mind.

They moved along in between a scarcity of trees and vegetation, finding the small stream in which Ios had followed Barghest back to Cerberus.

Ios slowly drank the clean water, soothing his quench and reviving his energy.

Grace had him alone exactly in the position she had been trying at when the situation was good; she'd hoped he'd be submissive enough for her to tell him about her feelings for him.

"Hey, Ios, I've been wanting to-" a rustle in the sparse brush interrupted Grace, and her train of thought.

"Oh, hey guys. What are you two doing up so early?" They heard their friend, Humphrey, ask.

Grace sighed discreetly. "Just enjoying the water."

"That's… good." Humphrey could feel something in Grace's voice, a disappointment and utter irritation towards him, along with her eyes, tracing him as he walked forward at them.

"What about you? Why are you up this early?" Grace asked Humphrey and looked to him for an explanation. She had started to get a feeling that her and Ios weren't meant to be.

"I don't know… I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Humphrey asked.

"Nothing at all." Grace replied kindly with a smile, hiding her true answer inside. "_Of course you are you imbecile! I was so close and you come and screw it up!"_

"Oh, okay." Humphrey replied.

They all remained in a speechless stupor until someone decided to break the silence.

"So… what do you want to do to pass the time?" Ios asked.

"How about some log sledding? I don't really have a name for it, so we'll just call it sledding." Humphrey suggested with his tail wagging excitedly and an eager, almost hoping, facial expression.

"Sure." Ios said.

"I'm up for it." Grace said. "_I don't have anything else to do, thanks to you."_

"Awesome; first we should go to the hill that my friends and I go to sled, then we'll need to find a sled."

"Alright, let's go." Ios said to him.

**xxxXXXxxx**

Kelsa opened her eyes to the sight of the early morning sun shining into the den. She looked over to begin waking her sister but didn't see her.

"_She must be up already._ _And everyone else is still asleep." _She thought.

Kelsa decided to find her new friend, Hutch, to go see if he was awake. She stood up and slowly tip toed her way out of the den and being careful not to step on anyone's appendages.

She stopped in her tracks as she heard someone rustle in their sleep. Kelsa looked over to see which of the wolves in the den were moving.

Kelsa noticed a white colored wolf moving around a little, Kelsa noted that it was Lilly who was beginning to wake up. She guess that if she could quickly make it out, she wouldn't be noticed. But she was wrong.

As Kelsa began to make her way to the den's entrance, Lilly sat up and noticed something move out of the den. Curious, Lilly stood up and peered out of the den.

Kelsa looked behind her at the den to see if anyone was following her.

Lilly quickly ducked back inside to avoid detection. She waited for a while until she decided it was clear to proceed. She could barely see her friend Kelsa's tail disappear behind some rocks leading to some more dens.

_Hmm, what could she be doing?_ Lilly thought to herself.

Lilly continued on following Kelsa to see where she would go. It was entertaining for her because the excitement of following and hiding from someone who doesn't know someone's there was fun.

Lilly came closer to the rock and peered past it just in time to see Kelsa walk into a den. She wasn't real memorable with the owners of each den, so she was unknowledgeable to whom the den belonged. She began to sneak passed the rock and hid on one side of the dens entrance to see inside. She overheard Kelsa talking.

"Hutch…. Hutch are you awake?" Kelsa called in a whisper to Hutch. He was lying down on his side with his eyes shut in rest.

Hutch opened his eyes, showing his sparked eyes, and found himself looking over to her. "I am now." he answered.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I just wanted to see if you were up." Kelsa stated.

"I don't mind, the pack's sleeping in today anyway. I really should get up." said Hutch with weariness.

"Okay…. Are you planning on doing anything today?" Kelsa asked in a shy way, looking at the ground playing with a small pebble beneath her paw.

"I'll be with a few other alphas, getting something for the pack to eat. Why?" Hutch asked. He sat up and stretched; the sensation sent a moan from his throat.

Kelsa giggled at the sight of him; seeing his body flex its agile form to rid the soreness of sleep. Her mind riddled with thoughts that betrayed her, she didn't know what to think of them, they didn't feel right but they gave her a tingling sensation over her body. Never the less, she cared for him deeply, even after having a lasting friendship of only a day, she felt he was perfect in every way, and she wanted to be perfect for him.

Hutch noticed Kelsa staring at him. "What?" he said.

"Oh, nothing." Kelsa smiled. "What else are you going to do today?"

"Well, after hunting caribou I guess I'll be patrolling the valley. After that I might-" Hutch suddenly felt something else within her question, "Why are you asking?"

Kelsa was caught slightly off guard. She looked at the ground and nervously pawed at the pebble. She didn't want Hutch to think badly of her, she wanted to be friends with him for a time before she'd do as Kate told her; asking him if they could be together.

"Because… I-I just wanted to know." she replied nervously, "And I wanted to know if I could come with you."

"Come with me? Well I can't take you hunting with me, but after the hunting, you can come patrolling with me. How does that sound?" he asked.

Kelsa thought patrolling was serious business. "But-"

"Nothing really happens on patrol, I just have to be sure they're no any signs of trouble." Hutch interrupted, guessing at what she had to say.

"Oh… Sure, that sounds great." Kelsa gave him a smile.

Outside of the den, Lilly smiled to herself at the sight of Kelsa falling for Hutch. But she saw in Hutch's eyes, the obliviousness. He hadn't known what Kate was trying to do with introducing Kelsa to him, and he did not know of the growing compassion in which Kelsa held for him.

Lilly felt it wasn't her place or that of anyone else to tell Hutch about Kelsa's feelings for him. She knew he'd find out in time, and she thought that was the best way.

But perhaps, Hutch might surprise everyone and tell his feelings of love for Kelsa, if he had any.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Humphrey?" Kate looked around herself in a sleepy state, scanning around in the den for any sign of her partner.

She made an assumption that since the sun was out; he must have gone for something important. _"I better go find him."_ She thought.

Kate pushed her body up from the earth and stretched to ready herself for the day. She wondered where Humphrey could have gone, but didn't pay much attention to the thought for she knew Humphrey was smart enough to keep himself out of trouble, or get himself out of trouble for that matter. But the thought was still there, and with those _crazy_ wolves out lurking in the forest, she worried for his safety.

She walked gingerly out of the den, gazing around at the fresh looking day and taking in the crisp air. She breathed in heavily and sighed.

"Good morning, Kate."

Kate looked over to her left. Lilly was walking up to her with the kind and shy smile she always held, but it also looked as if the smile hid something, like Lilly had just seen the makings of sprouting love.

"Morning, Lilly." Kate greeted with slight glee, seeing her sister bright eyed and looking like the cheerful omega she always was, but lately, she's become increasingly serious and more of a leader. It came to Kate as if she wasn't meant to lead the pack, it was Lilly's destiny.

"I didn't see Humphrey come out with you." Lilly looked inside the den curiously.

"I'm not sure where he went." Kate replied, "I woke up alone."

"He should be around her somewhere." Lilly said.

"I'm going to go find him right now."

"Need any help? I'm not busy at the moment and I'd like something to do." Lilly asked.

"If you'd like, but I don't understand why he'd get up and leave." Kate trailed off in thought, looking down at the ground with half sadden eyes.

"I'm sure he just went to go get a drink of water or something." Lilly said caringly, the same sweet tone she always carried. "Don't fret about it."

"You're right, I shouldn't." Kate replied.

"_Gosh, Kate is really obsessing over Humphrey."_ Lilly thought. She came back to what Kate once asked her. Lilly was preoccupied with Garth, worrying neurotically about his safety. She understood Kate's concern for Humphrey, and realized that in some cases, it's fine to worry.

"I guess it's just in our nature to want to know where our mates are, right?" Kate asked nervously chuckling.

"I haven't met anyone who didn't care." Lilly answered, looking at Kate with honest eyes. Lilly's eyes always showed peace, they gave comfort to Kate in times of worry.

Kate and Lilly started off for the nearest stream, Kate's best guess as to where Humphrey might be.


	30. Chapter 30 Unfortunate Accident

Skoll was wide awake but he wasn't sure if he should get up. He looked over to Barghest who was sound asleep, or so it seemed.

"Pssst," Skoll whispered, "are you awake?"

Barghest sighed and replied in a monotone voice with a hint of agitation. "I have been for the past hour."

"I have been too." Skoll's father raised his head from the ground.

"Oh, well then should we do something?" Skoll asked.

It was their first morning in the pack, their new pack. He didn't know what he should do; he was hesitant to ask any of the other wolves because they were all unfamiliar faces. The feeling of alienation was settling in. He started to feel like an outcast from the rest of the wolves.

"You could go and play with your new friends you made yesterday." Fenrir suggested while he examined his paw for a stick which pained him.

Skoll had completely forgotten about them due to all of the excitement of yesterday's events. "Oh yeah, I wonder where they are..."

"They should be somewhere, why not go and explore?" Barghest asked while he used his rear paw to scratch his ear.

"Because I-"

"Don't be a pup, no one will hurt you." Barghest said harshly said, "Did you forget that you're a killer?"

Fenrir looked at Barghest with scolding eyes. "Barghest, we aren't killers anymore, we've changed."

Barghest looked back at him with eyes of disgust, but they weren't to Fenrir. "Nothing will change the past."

Fenrir sounded irritated. "We can make up for it, Barghest. Don't sound so helpless."

"You know I speak the truth." Barghest replied with a disturbingly calmed voice and his eyes showed how much he believed in what he spoke of.

"We'll continue this later… Go and find your new friends Skoll, I'll be waiting here." Fenrir said.

"What about-"

"Go Skoll, everyone else seems to be waking up." Fenrir looked around at the dens where many wolves were emerging.

"Okay, I'll see you later, dad." Skoll said.

"Okay son, have fun."

When Skoll left, Fenrir turned to Barghest. "Not in front of him… this is his chance to have a better life. That's all I want for him and you go saying meaningless things like that."

"They aren't meaningless, they're truth." Barghest said in a lighter more pleasant tone of voice than before. Fenrir was surprised by this.

"I know, but he's been acting out lately, and it's hard to keep him from doing idiotic acts with you filling his head with unpleasant thoughts." Fenrir argued, using a quieter and softer tone to match Barghest's

"You say he's been acting out lately?" Barghest asked him, his eyes showed he knew the answer to his own question as he gave a slight grin on one side of his face.

Fenrir shook his head seeing the glint in the younger wolf's eyes.

"You're his problem." Barghest said coldly.

"What?" Fenrir said in a shocked disbelief. "How am I-"

"All he's ever wanted to do was impress you," Barghest interrupted, "And be granted praise for things he does, but you've focused all of your attention on Hati. He's told me that he doesn't feel like he's your son anymore."

"I-I…" Fenrir stuttered, unable to complete his sentence.

"All he's ever wanted to do was make you proud of him."

"I didn't know." Fenrir sighed, "Ever since his mother died…

"I know." Barghest said.

"And now Hati… what am I going to do about him?" Fenrir asked with helplessness that Barghest felt pity for.

Barghest sighed in a sad manner that gave Fenrir the answer he despised. He wished for another way to save Hati.

Fenrir began to protest, "No… There must be something else we can do. I can't-"

Barghest interrupted, "He's chosen his side."

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Ready?" Humphrey asked his passengers aboard the long log sled made of bark from a tree that gave them a perfect way to race down the steep hill they had found it on.

Grace and Ios both nodded behind him in the sled, sitting down and balancing on their haunches while they braced themselves with their forepaws, ready for what Humphrey had excitingly told them about; an intense and fun experience.

They sat atop the hill and were perched precariously on a flat top rock that gave them the perfect launching station.

Humphrey began to count down. The unknown grasped on Grace and Ios's excitement with a devilish embrace as they readied themselves, "One!"

Humphrey tossed his body forward to give the flimsy sled the momentum it needed to release its furious speed off of the flat top of the rock and down the hill's steep slope. Ios's senses jumped at the weightless to heavy feeling he got as the sled tipped slightly over the edge and back to it's original position atop the flat rock. A kick on the rocky surface by Humphrey's leg sent the sled flying down the hill, with all of its passengers screaming out of an intense adrenalin rush.

"This is so crazy!" Grace screamed as Humphrey steered away from the many rocks and trees which dotted the hill. He was able to avoid a grisly crash from practice and experience.

Humphrey watch as a large tree with a wide trunk had come in too fast for him alone to avoid. "Lean left!" he yelled.

Grace started to ask him why but saw what they were on a collision course with.

She screamed in fear while Ios yelled in terror. They both leaned their bodies left displacing the weight of the sled in that direction, avoiding impact with the tree.

Humphrey sighed in relief. "That was close."

"Too close for comfort Humphrey, you said this would be fun." Grace said to Humphrey in irritancy.

"It's not fun?" Humphrey asked her with a chuckle.

"It's terrifying!" Grace angrily yelled at him with her eyes squinting at him out of anger.

"I like it." Ios said. He caught a cold look from Grace.

"How do you stop this thing?" Grace asked. She started to move herself attempting to get off the speeding sled.

"Whoa! Hey, stop moving!" Humphrey yelled at Grace for shaking the sled around and causing it to loose control and progressively speed faster, "There aren't any breaks!"

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Where could he be?" Kate asked in a worried tone to no one in particular. The fear of the pack of dark wolves capturing him sent fearful shivers down her spine. She sniffed the ground out of panic to find Humphrey's scent.

"I'm sure he's fine Kate." Lilly comforted. However, even she held a hint of doubt in the back of her mind.

"Wait," Kate jolted her head up from the ground quick which startled Lilly, "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Lilly asked as she perked up her ears.

"It sounds like… screaming?" Kate followed the sound up the base of a big hill.

"Kate, the screaming is getting louder." Lilly was able to hear what Kate had pointed out.

Kate looked directly back at Lilly, "It could be Humphrey."

Before Kate could turn around, three wolves on a halved and hollowed tree trunk slid in and caught Kate and Lilly, tossing them over onto the tree wolves's sled, causing the sled to loose more of its control that it had left.

Lilly screamed while Kate was in a panic as she and her sister sat in the sled. "What's going on?" Kate yelled.

"Hey Kate." Humphrey greeted with a smile. Kate looked at him with her face contorted in aggravated anger; both for her worry about him leaving without telling her and for driving into her and her sister.

Humphrey held a cool and a strangely controlled voice. "As you can see I have things under control."

"This is what you call _under control_? We were almost killed!" Grace argued angrily.

"Look out!" Kate used all the strength in her muscles to lean and avert the sled's direction from colliding with a large boulder jutting from the hill.

"We need to get this under control." Ios advised He looked back at Lilly who was sitting between him and Grace with Kate behind Humphrey. Lilly was frightened and breathing heavily with her claws clutching the sides of the hollowed half of a log as if she was clinging for dear life.

"Kate? Is she okay?" Ios asked in slight worry with his eyes on Lilly.

"She'll be fine when we're off this nightmare!" Kate replied over the roar of earth and bark grinding against one another.

"Humphrey, we need to slow down." Kate said.

"You can't really stop these things when there going." he replied.

"Just great!" Kate yelled. The sled began to swivel on one side. The wolves tried their best to turn the sled back around in fear of going backwards, but it was already traveling down the hill longwise.

Grace gasped and screamed as she looked out the side, capturing the attention of everyone else who followed her gasp and scream of their own. A small rock angled in a wedge and aimed directly at the center of the sled treated to split the sled in half.

Humphrey was hopeless as the rock rigidly cut the sled in half lengthwise, forming two smaller sleds.

Humphrey and Kate traveled on their own sled and watched as Grace, Ios, and Lilly spun out of control on a course that would lead them directly toward another tree.

"Humphrey!" Kate tried to get Humphrey to focus on the path ahead but she was too late. Their sled encountered a smaller rock that flipped their sled on its side slightly and flipped, tossing it's passengers out and sending them flailing down the hill.

"Ah! Make it stop!" Lilly screamed and closed her eyes tightly.

The tree came up on the three quickly and smashed their sled into pieces. Their motionless bodies lay around the base of the tree.

Kate and Humphrey were both able to get up with only slight pain.

Kate gave an agonizing groan when she put her paw over her lower midsection. "I think my stomach's bruised."

Humphrey rubbed his head and flinched slightly as his paw ran over a tender bruise. "I must have hit my head on something." he said, feeling dizzy and lightheaded. A headache began to pain him.

"Humphrey…" Kate said, looking over to Ios, Grace, and Lilly. The three hadn't moved.

Humphrey looked at Kate with shock and began running toward his friends' bodies. He made it to Grace first and put his ear up to her shoulder hoping to find a heartbeat.

"She's alive, Kate." he said with a relieved sigh. He watched as Kate ran over to her sister and do the same he did, and was relieved to find that Lilly slowly stuck her head up to look at Kate.

"Are you okay?" Kate asked in a whisper like voice.

Lilly nodded slowly and lifted herself up to all four paws.

"What about Ios?" Kate asked over to Humphrey. She saw that he was already at Ios's body.

"He's breathing." Humphrey replied, "Should we wait for them to wake up?"

"We can't carry them ourselves, and we can't leave them." Kate stated, "What where you thinking?" she asked sternly.

"Kate, I'm sorry. I didn't know it would go like this." Humphrey began, "I just wanted to show them how to have some fun and-"

"We'll talk about it later." she interrupted, "We should hope that they wake up soon."

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Winston dear, have you seen Kate?" Eve asked her mate who had just walked into the den. She had just woken from sleep and found that everyone but her was still asleep.

"I haven't." he said, "I checked her den, she and Humphrey weren't there."

"Do you think they're out alone?" Eve asked.

"If they are, Ios and Grace followed them. I haven't found them either." Winston added. His voice swayed between worry and anger.

Just then, Garth walked in. "I can't find Lilly." he said worriedly.

"She's missing too?" Winston asked.

"We're finding them Winston, I will not let anyone hurt my daughters." Eve said angrily with a raised voice.

"Let's get a team together and look for them." Winston commanded. Garth nodded.

Even though Garth and Lilly were in charge of the pack, he still listened to Winston for his wisdom and guidance.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"What have we here?" said a low and strong voice. The dark shadow crouched low, he was alone and looked upon five wolves with succulent hate and anger. He saw that two of the wolves were lying on the ground unconscious and the other three looked ruffed up and not in much shape to fight.

Behind a tree at the base of a large hill, Cerberus hungered for his revenge as he charged up at the helpless wolves.


	31. Chapter 31 Failed Negotiations

Ios woke to a scream that pierced his hearing so great that it caused him to jolt upright. He looked around himself while overcoming his own bodily pain, and found an angelic golden wolf lying on the ground fighting with a large black as shadow wolf-like creature holding her down with snarling fangs and grotesquely large muscles.

The scream he had heard was from the wolf behind him; she was white as snow and had a look of horror plastered on her canine face.

He saw a scruffy grey wolf leap forward to attack the dark shadow creature, and to Ios's surprise, he saw the wolf attack the creature with a fierceness that he didn't expect.

"Humphrey!" Ios called, "Go for his neck!"

Humphrey clamped his jaws on the shadowed creature's neck, producing a howl of pain from its throat.

The creature turned its attention from the now lifeless Kate and began to turn its head to snap at Humphrey.

Ios felt a pain in his side, but he ignored it as he sped along at the shadowed wolf.

"You'll die Cerberus!" he yelled, "You deserve no mercy!"

Ios struck Cerberus's side and sent him flying to the grassy ground; Humphrey stood beside Ios as they watched Cerberus get up.

Ios could hear the sounds of whimpering and slight whispering behind him. He looked back to find Lilly shaking a red colored wolf. Grace seemed to be unconscious, but he wasn't sure. He looked over to Kate and found her in worse shape. Her face had small scratches, her chest had an open slash, her neck was bloodied, and her left shoulder had three bloody claw marks; all from Cerberus. Ios was unable to judge if she had met her death from Cerberus's attack or not, but now he wanted to make Cerberus pay either way.

"Ios," Cerberus hissed, "You weak dog, your friends will the death of you! Then I'll kill them all!"

"I will not let you touch any of them. You'll die before you get the chance." said Ios with pride.

"Will I know? What about her?" Cerberus asked with a grin as he looked over to Kate. "If you couldn't protect her, then how will you protect the others from me?"

"I'll kill you." Ios spat with a snarl from deep within his throat.

Cerberus flashed a grin and began howling, sparking slight surprise to Ios and Humphrey as more howls could be heard from deep in the trees around them.

Ios went back to Grace and placed a paw on her shoulder to shake her awake.

"It's no use." Lilly said with a hopeless whimper.

"I can try." Ios slapped Grace's face with a paw.

Grace's eyes fluttered open with them staring at Ios. "Ios?" she said as she winced from pain in her rear leg, "What happened?"

"There's no time, can you run?" Ios asked her frantically.

"I don't kno-" Grace saw Cerberus standing in front of Humphrey in a standoff. She gasped and got to her feet with a growl.

"What's going on?" Grace asked in a dazed state of confusion.

"Cerberus is here." Ios answered.

"Thanks for stating the obvious." Grace said harshly.

Ios turned away from Grace and back to Cerberus.

"Lilly, go check on Kate." Humphrey called to Lilly.

Ios saw Cerberus jolt his eyes to the side; he followed to look and then wished he hadn't. The rest of Cerberus's pack were all running in on all sides of them and eventually surrounding them.

"I want them alive." Cerberus commanded to his pack. They all snarled in acknowledgement.

Ios and Humphrey growled as the wolves grew closer to them.

Grace ran up to Lilly to protect her and Kate from an approaching wolf of Cerberus's pack.

"What do you plan to do with us?" Ios snapped at a wolf that got too close.

"I plan to use your deaths to weaken your pack. They'll all run from me and cower in fear. Perhaps dismember your bodies and have them strewn all over the valley." Cerberus said with a sadistic joy that sent a shiver us Ios's spine.

"You'll never get away with this!" Grace growled.

"I think I have." Cerberus turned his gaze to Grace. "Who's going to stop me?"

"We will." a voice called out in the distance.

"Garth?" Lilly jerked around, "Garth!" she exclaimed.

Garth stood before all of the wolves with all of the Alpha's in his pack along with Skoll, Fenrir, Barghest, Eve, and Winston.

"Let them go and maybe you'll live." Garth said with a serious tone.

"That would be merciful of you, but you're in no position to bargain young pack leader." Cerberus said. He walked over to Kate's motionless body and put a claw on her neck while pushing Grace and Lilly away.

"Come any closer, and she dies." Cerberus's white teeth contrasted as pure white against his black fur.

"What do you want then?" Garth asked him distastefully.

"I want you all dead." Cerberus said darkly.

Eve stood idle beside Winston. Unknown to everyone, the rage inside of her was growing so greatly that she would have the strength to kill every wolf in no amount of time.

"That's not going to happen." Garth told him.

"Then perhaps I'll give you her." Cerberus was referring to Kate.

"Her lifeless body would be a great trade?" Cerberus asked as if death didn't faze him.

"Don't lay your filthy claws on my daughters!" Eve screamed in anger.

"Or what?" Cerberus asked.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that." Winston warned as he backed away from Eve.

Cerberus was unsettled by this.

"A trade then? We keep Ios and Grace, but you can have the rest."

"No deal, they all come with us, alive and for that, you'll get out of valley alive." Garth stated.

Garth looked over to Lilly. Cerberus followed his gaze and began to see that Lilly had a slightly distended stomach. He grinned to himself.

"Then how about your mate's life?" Cerberus said.

"They all come with us." Garth repeated, being slightly disturbed that Cerberus knew about Lilly being his mate.

Cerberus stood beside Lilly. Her heart raced as she could feel a fear she never knew before.

"You can have her." Cerberus used his head to strike her side, hitting her stomach and causing great pain and a yowl to escape from Lilly's mouth. She got up and began to limp to her mother's side, crying while she did so.

"Lilly!" Garth screamed in terror. He began to lurch forward, eyeing Cerberus with the eyes of a killer.

Cerberus went back to Kate. "She'll die before you can lay a claw on me."

Garth's eyes met with Ios's.

Ios looked at him with eyes that explained a solution. Garth nodded.

"You'll let us walk away with them, and they won't come to any harm by me." Cerberus offered.

"Somehow, I don't like that deal." Garth spat.

"Just take it Garth!" Grace yelled.

Garth looked at Grace as she winked as a signal.

Ios strode forward and knocked Cerberus off his feet. Then he, Grace, and Humphrey made a blockade around Kate to protect her from the wolves.

"Kill them all!" Garth yelled as he ran at Cerberus.

Cerberus felt this standoff was lost and chose to retreat.

"Hunt them down!" Garth commanded as all of his Alphas charged forward past Ios, Grace, and Humphrey.

While Garth and the Alphas went to hunt Cerberus and his pack down, Winston, Eve, Skoll, Fenrir, and Barghest stayed behind to help the injured wolves.

"Are you alright?" Barghest asked his brother worriedly as he quickly walked up to him.

"Yes, I'm fine." he answered, "Let's help get the others out of here."

Eve ran over to check on Kate and found that she was alive and that her injuries weren't as bad as they appeared. Kate had lost a lot of blood from the tiny but numerous wounds she received though. "She's fine for now," she stated, "but we need to get her out of here quickly."


	32. Chapter 32 A Cry Before the Storm

Kelsa whimpered worriedly. "Where could she be?" she asked herself as she paced back and forth near the dens; her frequent steps created a rut of packed dirt.

A few of the omegas watched her and felt her worry as their own; the pack cared for its members. One Omega decided to try and calm Kelsa's nerves even though the wolf hadn't met her before.

"They'll be here any moment." the slender built wolf comforted.

Kelsa turned to the wolf, looked in its direction, and said nothing while she stared at him with a plain expression that held hurt and worry underneath

"Uh…" the wolf replied to her silence.

"Salty…!" whispered a smaller wolf, "What are you doing?"

"What?" replied Salty, "I'm just trying to help, Shakey."

Shakey shook his head in disbelief and placed a paw in his own forehead.

"Salty, now is no time to be making a _move_."

"What? …!" Salty shook his head is disgust while his eyes and brows showed the same resentment of Shakey's accusation.

"I'm not making a move-" Salty was interrupted by the familiar sound of leaves being decimated and crunched by a wolf's paws; only, there was more than one wolf.

"Grace!" exclaimed Kelsa, but her expression went from relief to worry, "What happened?" She saw her hurt sister and injured friends make their way to the dens.

A beaten and bloody Kate limped along with her mother and father who supported her as she limped along.

Grace walked up to her sister with a slight limp and winced with every other step she took from a bruise she had received on her shoulder.

"We were attacked." Kelsa's sister explained.

"… By them?" Kelsa asked, referring to the wolves in which she feared far more than anything she'd ever feared.

"Yes, Kels. They took us by surprise, and if it weren't for Garth and the other Alphas, we wouldn't be here." Grace stated.

"I'm just glad you're okay." Kelsa hugged her sister and felt more like crying out of relief.

"We're all fine, Kels, no need to worry." Grace said to her sister.

Humphrey walked with Ios, behind Kate and her mother, and noticed the light and quick rumbling of paws behind them. He elbowed Ios for his attention and looked back; the Alphas had come back without the blood of their enemy to stain their teeth and claws.

While watching the Alphas all disperse throughout the den area, Humphrey noticed a small group of wolves helping an injured Alpha wolf limp to a more comfortable place.

"I wonder if he's okay…" Humphrey said, his voice being drowned out by the constant chatting being held by the other wolves around them.

"You wonder if who's okay?" Ios asked, cocking his head in the direction in which Humphrey was staring.

"Hutch; his legs don't look too good." Humphrey turned his head to Ios, "Lets go see if he needs any help."

Before Humphrey could jog off to Hutch, Ios said "But you're hurt as well."

"Not as much as he is." Humphrey replied.

Ios began to take notice of Humphrey's kindness and compassion; he wondered if that was a reason Kate was with him.

"Let's help him then." said Ios.

Grace was talking to her sister about what had happened to her but noticed that Kelsa had turned her head away from her and to Humphrey and Ios.

Kelsa wondered what they were doing since they were walking in a direction away from the dens. She leaned sideways, bracing herself with a leg. She saw, what was before obstructed from view by her sisters head, Hutch; and she didn't like what she saw of him.

Kelsa held her jaw slightly agape as she watched helplessly as Hutch winced with every step he took; his two front legs mutilated and bloody.

Grace looked at her sister and saw the grave concern in her eyes. She looked back and nearly gasped at the sight of the wolf she saw.

Kelsa got up and brushed passed her sister to run over to Hutch.

"Kelsa, wait-" But Kelsa had already made it to the injured wolf.

"Hutch…" Kelsa choked as tears began to stream from her glassy eyes. Her ears fell flat against her head and her tail swung unhappily as dark storm clouds hung low overhead

Hutch looked in front of him at Kelsa.

"I'll be alright," he said, "I was ambushed."

Kelsa soon became overwhelmed with emotions and leaned forward to hug Hutch and cry on his shoulder.

Hutch thought she was falling but became surprised when Kelsa held a paw over on his shoulder tightly; almost like a hug.

Grace looked at her sister and examined the way Kelsa acted towards the wolf and deduced her own answer. She couldn't help but admire at her sister's choice; the wolf was handsome and held a serious but kind face.

"_A lot like Ios…"_ she thought.

Indeed, the wolf reminded her of Ios; her heart felt like it nearly stopped. She experienced a wave of helplessness wash over her as she heard thunder in the distance.

She felt like crying as a droplet of water splattered on the ground and be absorbed into the soil.

How could she tell Ios that she loved him if he didn't want to be with her? She already knew that Ios was aware of her love for him, but now, she couldn't tell if he was in love with her. He had changed a lot since he began to get his memory back, and to her, it was a change for the worse.

Ios must have had a reason why he hadn't expressed his feelings for her; he seemed to avoid any chance she had to ask him if he loved her.

"_What am I doing…?_" Grace sniffed out of sadness, "_I shouldn't be crying like this._" She thought.

The rain began to fall rapidly and in more abundance as the soil soaked up the water droplets one by one until it became saturated.

Grace tried her best not to cry, but with the rain pouring down like it was; she thought no one would notice as she looked down to the ground.

"Grace?"

She looked up to see Ios sitting before her with slightly soaked fur.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

Grace began to tell him that she was fine, but her untrue words choked her as she cried.

Ios could see the tears in the streams of water running down Grace's face to the end of her muzzle.

"Let's get out of the rain." he said softly.

Grace nodded to him and stood up, following him to a den for shelter out of the thunderstorm.

The late morning day had been consumed by the darkness of the intense thunderstorm.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Will he be okay?" Kelsa asked impatiently to Eve who was now tending to Hutches wounds after she had treated Kate's injuries.

"Yes, he'll have to spend sometime healing, but he'll be fine." Eve replied.

"I didn't know you cared for me that much, Kelsa." Hutch was lying down on his side to let Eve treat his wounded front legs.

"I- um…" she stammered.

If Kelsa hadn't had fur, her face would be as red as the color crimson.

Lilly overheard the conversation and decided to walk over and join in as she sat beside her mother.

"I think she loves you, Hutch." Lilly smiled innocently, as if she had not just revealed Kelsa's feelings to Hutch.

Hutch's expression was of slight surprise, since nothing much surprised him fully, to a slight smile of understanding.

"Kelsa… is this true?" he asked. Hutch could tell Kelsa was shying away because she turned her head from his to keep from looking him in the eyes.

"Kelsa…" he watched her turn her head back to him, her eyes showed certainty.

She quickly but smoothly made a move to kiss Hutch; he didn't resent her; he enjoyed the tingling sensation he experienced with the closeness and connection with Kelsa.

She pulled back and whispered in his ear, "Yes."


	33. Chapter 33 The Gift

"Those insignificant _dogs_," Cerberus angrily cursed, "I'll make them all pay!"

His small pack and he hid in the darkness to conceal their shadow-like forms. Cerberus paced with infuriation as he slashed at trees and growling at his pack as they cowered in fear of him; each wolf's eyes shown brightly in the night.

"What shall we do, master?" a small wolf asked, "We couldn't possibly attack them."

"Yes we can, Argos. They won't be expecting it." Cerberus growled lowly.

"But that's…" the young wolf, Hati, trailed off.

Cerberus snapped at Hati and flashed his crimson colored eyes at him. "Suicide?" he asked Hati.

"I-I…" Hati stammered.

Cerberus ran at a tree and clawed at it viciously, practically destroying it in two.

"We attack," he said in a menacing tone, "Tonight."

**xxxXXXxxx**

"I-I'm sorry…" Grace choked with burning tears streaming down her face and off her muzzle.

Ios sat inside the dark and small den with Grace as she continued to cry as silently as she could.

The noon sun was torn asunder with evilly low hanging clouds that acted as if they voraciously threatened life with a deathly gaze, waiting for a victim.

"Don't be sorry." Ios said with comforting eyes that became a striking deep blue a small amount reflected from them.

Grace continued to cry softly, but couldn't stand to look at Ios's eyes, his strong blue eyes that caused haplessness to assail her. The fact that his eyes could do so much to her made her feel weak but she was tempted to stare into his eyes forever. Love was all she was able to contemplate when he was near, but she couldn't fathom why Ios resented their being in love.

Grace stopped crying for a second and her eyes changed from sadness and helplessness to anger and hate.

"Grace?" Ios was confused at why she was looking at him like she wanted to kill him.

"You took my family away from me," she started forward at him, "I go through hell with you, and now you deny me."

"G-Grace..." Ios backed himself against the walls of the small den. "I only deny you because I know you'd…" Ios stopped himself in fear; fear of expressing his feelings.

"I'd what?" she asked angrily, growling as her teeth bore closely at his neck.

"…that you wouldn't be happy with the one who caused you unhappiness." Ios finished.

Grace pulled herself from her anger and took a step back, letting Ios move from the wall.

"And you think I'd be happy with someone else?" Grace struggled with her words from fighting back tears but she kept her composure.

"Grace, I-I didn't mean it-… I only want you to be happy."

"I _was_ happy, Ios… with you." Grace turned away from him and made her way to the opposite end of the cave and lied down to sulk as she put her paws over her closed eyes.

"Grace… I-"

Ios couldn't find any words that would comfort Grace. The only thing that he knew to do was to let her know that he was there for her, but he couldn't do that. He had almost destroyed her life when he killed her family; he wasn't right for her.

He bedded down on his side of the den, keeping his distance from Grace.

"_I don't know what to do…"_ he thought as he lay away from Grace.

He didn't want to believe they were meant for each other because of their past, it was the most illogical thought he could think of ever since his memory came back to him.

However, that thought became more rational every time he was with Grace. Before, when he was with Humphrey and Grace alone on their adventure to save Kate, he and Grace had been so comfortable with one another in a way that he felt was natural and right.

They _were_ meant to be together, but Ios still had his doubts.

He thought about it for the duration of the day as he and Grace laid in silence as the storm raged on.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Where does it hurt, Kate?" Humphrey asked as he prodded Kate's side with a paw.

She whimpered slightly. "It must be broken."

"It'll heal though, right?" Humphrey worried for Kate; he didn't want her to be in pain.

Kate could almost feel his worry. "I'm fine Humphrey."

"No, you're hurt."

"I'm more worried about you, how are you feeling?" she asked, lying down on the cold rocky den floor which sent a noticeable shiver through her body.

"I won't be feeling well until I know you're okay." Humphrey lay next to her and pressed his body closely and tightly to her slender form careful not to hurt her.

Both of the wolves lay in their den, separated from the others after Kate's mother had treated them for their injuries.

With the raging storm outside their den, they felt it was unsafe because of the unusual weather. It had lasted for hours, and by the wolves' internal clocks, it must have been near sundown.

"I don't like it." Humphrey stated, hoping to end the dreadful silence of roaring rain.

"What is it that you don't like?" Kate asked him. She was lying on the ground with her eyes closed.

"Something has it out for us, Kate." said Humphrey, "Like something wants us dead."

"Humphrey, you need to quit worrying about such things."

"But I… I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right." Kate kissed Humphrey and he kissed back.

But something unexpected happened; their bodies began to heal but they suddenly felt slightly drained of energy. A strange faintly glowing aura of white light appeared around their bodies but not bright enough to be noticeable unless inspected closely.

Kate and Humphrey stared at each other in awe; they looked each other over and found each other's wounds and cuts were no longer visible, like they hadn't been there at all.

"Kate?"

"I don't know Humphrey…" She moved around a little to check her broken bones, which were her ribs; they had healed too.

"What… happened?" Humphrey questioned. His mind drew a blank for a second.

"This could be something to do with that dream, Humphrey. The one you saved me from," Kate answered, unsure of their predicament, "And that voice."

"It's amazing, Kate. I don't feel anymore pain." Humphrey said, ignoring Kate's answer.

Kate was silent as her thoughts filled her head, asking questions that she herself could not answer.

"Wait a second…" Humphrey braced himself and used his own claws to slash at his side, creating three long and deep cuts on his midsection.

Humphrey winced. "Okay, kiss me."

"Humphrey!" Kate screamed as she frantically began asked him questions about why he would do such a thing as to cause harm to himself.

Humphrey ignored her and quickly kissed her.

"Humphrey, what are you-" Kate stopped herself as she saw Humphrey's body become basked in a very faint aura of white. His self inflicted wounds were healed almost instantly, if not right away.

"Wow, it worked." said Humphrey, surprised at himself.

Kate looked at him quizzically, and then realized what he had done. "Now I get it." she said, "You could have told me what you were doing."

"I will next time. I just needed to know that it was real." Humphrey said, lightly kissing Kate on the cheek.

"Should we tell anyone?" Kate asked.

"_I think it would be best if you didn't for the time being."_ A ghostly voice echoed in.

"I know that voice." Humphrey said.

Kate perked her ears and raised her brows. "You know it too?"

**xxxXXXxxx**

Ios woke with a startle and realized he was only having a disturbing dream. His dream was strange and it wasn't clear enough for him to remember.

The storm outside of the den was still raging, but only slightly less than it was before Ios and Grace began sleeping. He could only deduce that the sun was only and hour or two from setting.

He suddenly looked over to Grace and saw that she had fallen asleep in the same place she had been.

Ios shook his head and rubbed his eyes with his paws

"_She deserves to be happy…"_ he thought to himself.

He absentmindedly approached her, being cautious and careful not to wake her.

He battled himself against what he should do versus what he wanted to do. He had to tell her that he loved her… no, he wanted to tell her. His feelings for her were as bright a flame as hers were for him.

Ios softly agitated the fur on Grace's face with his paw in an attempt to wake her, but she hadn't moved.

He didn't want to wake her abruptly, she might get angry at him and he didn't want that; she was already angry with him enough.

Grace began to wake and it startled Ios which in turn startled Grace as she saw Ios staring down at her.

"What were you doing?" she demanded.

"I-I-" Ios stuttered. He was caught completely off guard.

"Spit it out." Grace growled slightly as she rose to her four paws and met Ios at eye level.

"Grace… I… I have these _feelings_, and they're hard not to ignore. I realize that you have feelings for me and all I want is for you to be happy." Ios replied.

"And what would these feelings be?" Grace asked, obviously intrigued and excited; hoping that his answer would confess feelings for her.

Ios stopped himself for a second and remembered a statement that entailed actions being louder that words in a figurative sense.

He quickly closed the gap between him and Grace and kissed her passionately, putting all of his sureness, sincerity and heartfelt desire into it.

When he pulled back and stared into her eyes, he began to gather the courage to tell her of his feelings. He wasn't an expert on personal matters of the heart.

"What was that for?" Grace asked, almost as if she wanted more as her saddened expression showed that she hadn't wanted Ios to stop kissing her.

Before he could speak, however, a faintly glowing aura of white light appeared as a thin layer, coating Grace's body.

"Grace?" he asked as he felt as if he had little energy than he had before.

"Ios?" she asked as she saw the same of Ios.

As soon as the faintly glowing aura appeared, it had evaporated into nonexistence.

"What just happened?" Grace asked

Ios then remembered the dream he had; it soon became clear to him.

"Grace, let me see your neck."

"Okay…" Grace said in an unsure way.

Grace turned her head to the side and let Ios inspect her throat and neck. He ran a paw through her fur to search for the healing wounds in which Cerberus had inflicted upon her.

"They aren't there anymore…" Ios half whispered to himself.

"What's not there anymore? The bite marks?" Grace asked, turning her head back to Ios.

"They're gone, not even a scar?" Ios was dumbfounded.

"That can't be, are you joking?" Grace asked with anger but with a hint of hopefulness.

"Are you still sore and riddled with bruises?" Ios asked her.

Grace thought about it for a second and was surprised to find that she no longer felt sore and bruised from the accident on the hill.

"No, my injuries are gone." she told him.

Ios checked his own extremities only to find that his injuries such as small cuts and bruises had vanished too.

"_Hello Grace."_

"Did you say something, Ios?" she asked.

Ios shook his head and stared at her with concern.

"_It's good to see you and Ios have found the gift I've left you." _A strong male voice echoed.

"Who are you?" Grace asked while she looked around her at nothing but air and the den walls.

"Grace? Who are you talking to?"

"_She's talking to me, Ios." _

"Are you the same voice from my dream?" Ios asked.

"_Indeed I am."_ the voiced answered.

"Where exactly are you?" Grace asked the air.

"_Right now,"_ the voice said, _"I'm everywhere."_

"Who are you?" Ios asked.

"_Enough questions, please. I must tell you about what I've given you." _


	34. Chapter 34 A Fight to the End

It was sundown by the time the voice had finished explaining to Grace and Ios about the gift it had given to them.

"So… let me get this straight," said Grace, "When Ios and I kiss… any of our wounds or injuries heal?"

"_You are correct but, depending on the number of wounds and their severity, using the gift will drain your strength and will continue to do so until it leaves you unconscious."_

"It'll drain our strength?" Ios asked.

"_The energy to heal must be drawn from someplace, better it to be your own strength to know your limitations. It's a heavy price to pay, but worthy enough."_ the voice added.

Grace blushed at the thought of what she wanted to ask and hesitated, but it was too important for her not to speak it.

"What about the kiss Ios and I shared under the waterfall? I didn't feel anything being drained and I didn't see a glow." asked Grace.

"_The wounds you had received on your neck had already been in the process of healing and the gift only finished what was little left to heal," _the voice said,_ "And you couldn't see the glow because it was daylight at that time."_

"Will this work on anyone we kiss?" Ios asked. Grace raised a brow at him and rolled her eyes.

"_There are only two others who posses this same gift from me. This gift will not function with anyone other than the one you are meant for."_ the voice replied.

"Meant for?" Grace asked the air.

"_There is nothing more you need from me."_ the voice replied.

Just as the voice finished speaking, a loud and sharp howl pierced their ears.

"No," Ios began, "He's back."

"_I must leave you._" The voice said as it left with a faint ghostly howl.

"Come on," Ios urged, "He must be starting an attack."

**xxxXXXxxx**

Kelsa shook Hutch awake frantically. They had been placed in a den of their own that was close to the main den.

He woke and asked her what was wrong and she answered, "It's him."

"I must warn everyone." Hutch said as he stubbornly battled the pain in his forelegs.

"No, I will." Kelsa told Hutch to stay were he was and get his rest before she left to exit the den.

Outside, she found darkness, rain, and frequent strikes of lightening. She could barely see due to the dark clouds and the fact that it was night. The strikes of lightening would brighten her path every so often until she made it to the main den.

Inside, she found everyone talking and pacing around.

Winston stopped talking to Tony and turned to Kelsa. "Yes, Kelsa?"

"It's him," she said, "Cerberus."

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Come on Humphrey, we need to go." Kate urged Humphrey, waiting impatiently for him near the den's mouth.

"_I have told you of my gift to you._ _Go, you two, and face the evil which has become the scourge of your pack's survival._" the ghostly voice said.

The voice never sounded again after it seemingly left with a ghostly howl.

Humphrey looked over to Kate and followed her outside of the den.

Outside of the den were wolves running in different directions through the darkened rain and mud earth.

"What should we do?" Humphrey asked Kate as they became drenched.

She stopped to turn around and face him. Kate was about to reply to Humphrey, but noticed a dark shadowy figure lurking closely behind Humphrey.

"Humphrey, look out!" she screamed, but she was too late. The dark shadow leapt from its crouching stance and tackled Humphrey to the ground in blinding speed; it used its teeth and claws to serrate and slash open Humphrey's flesh.

"No!" Kate screamed in anger. She bared her teeth and pushed of the ground with her powerful legs, grasping the shadowed wolf figure by the nape of its neck.

She held on mercilessly as the wolf whimpered and growled in pain. It continued to struggle under her clamped jaws until she let it go after seeing the state Humphrey was in.

Once she had let the wolf go, it ran off in fear of having death being brought to it. For a moment, Kate had thought of how much pain she had brought to the creature but she immediately turned her attention back to her lover.

"Humphrey…" Kate was appalled at his condition and she was shocked to even believe he was still alive.

Humphrey had many wounds such as gashes and deep slashes that bled furiously and formed a puddle of crimson under his body.

Kate remembered what the voice had told her about healing her mate with a kiss.

She could see Humphrey's chest rise and fall; he was still alive.

Kate knelt down and kissed Humphrey's lips, after she brought herself up, she saw the faint white glow she had seen earlier and began to feel light headed and tired.

Humphrey stirred and opened his eyes. "Kate?"

"Yes Humphrey, I'm here." she responded.

"What happened?" he asked.

"You were attacked and you were hurt…"

"Did you…?"

"Yes, I almost lost you." Kate replied.

Humphrey stood up and nuzzled Kate affectionately.

Kate nodded to Humphrey. "Now let's go find my dad."

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Grace!" Ios yelled as one of the two wolves attacked pinned her down.

The other wolf he was facing, who he knew as Gytrash, slashed at him and brought his attention from Grace who was facing Gytrash's brother, Gwyllgi.

"Why do you still fight for Cerberus?" Ios yelled angrily as he slashed his own sharp claws at Gwyllgi, catching it across the wolf's face.

Gwyllgi snarled and ignored the stinging pain. "You wouldn't know about loyalty, Ios."

"I know morality; what Cerberus does and what he has us do isn't right."

Gwyllgi charged at Ios with his jaws and missed as Ios sidestepped him and was knocked down by Ios's shoulder.

"This pack is a nuisance, and so are you!" Gwyllgi growled, getting up and moving away from Ios.

To Ios, Gwyllgi had clearly had his mind set on following Cerberus.

"Then you will die with Cerberus."

Gwyllgi gave a snarl and charged at Ios who also charged; they met in the middle with a violent clash of snarling fangs and slashing claws that dug deep into the flesh of the other. Both wolves fought each other ferociously and without mercy, attacking to kill.

"Grace," Ios yelled as he held back Gwyllgi's jaws, "Get out of here!"

"I can't, he won't let up!" she yelled back.

Ios caught a glimpse of Gytrash sinking his teeth into Grace's leg. Seeing what he saw caused Ios to find extra power in his muscles and he used it to break his entanglement with Gwyllgi which tossed the wolf aside.

"Ios!" Barghest yelled out with Fenrir and Skoll following behind him.

"Barghest, help us!" Ios yelled as he ran to Grace's aid.

Fenrir and Skoll ran over to hold back Gwyllgi while Barghest went to help his brother fight off Gytrash.

"Get away from her, Gytrash!" Ios yelled angrily, slashing his claws at Gytrash and injuring his shoulder.

Gytrash and Gwyllgi formed together and ran away into the darkness, leaving the other five wolves alone in the storming rain.

"Are you okay?" Ios asked Grace. He was relieved when he saw Grace stand up.

"I'm fine." she said, but her limp said otherwise.

"No, you aren't." Ios said.

Despite Grace's statement, Ios kissed her and her wounds healed as she was bathed in the same faint white glow.

Barghest and Fenrir's eyes widened and Skoll's jaw had his jaw agape in surprise.

"It's a gift, Grace, why not use it?" Ios asked. She nodded.

"What just happened?" Skoll asked. Fenrir gave Grace and Ios a look that said he wanted to know too.

"We'll explain later," said Ios, "Let's help the others fight off Cerberus."

"We don't know where he is, he could be anywhere." Barghest said.

"Look for the large group of wolves, and he'll be there." Ios implied, "Let's go."

**xxxXXXxxx**

As Cerberus laughed, the five wolves he faced backed away slightly.

"You puny wolves aren't worthy to face me!" Cerberus gave a nasty snarl.

"What are you waiting for," one of the wolves asked the other wolves around him, "Attack!"

One of the five wolves began to attack followed consecutively by another until each wolf was in a struggle with Cerberus.

Three other wolves saw the fight and stopped with their task to see if the wolves needed any help.

As the wolves pinned Cerberus to the ground, he began to laugh which struck each wolf as being peculiar.

Cerberus began to get back to his feet with all of the wolves trying with all their might to hold him down. Cerberus's strength was too much; he shook each wolf off like they were nothing but water.

The three wolves decided to help out the other five in taking down the large wolf which was Cerberus.

They all surrounded Cerberus and circled him, snapping out at him as a diversion for another wolf to attack his blindside.

"Try as you might, I enjoy a challenge." Cerberus sneered and flashed his red eyes.

The storm had made the ground saturated and left the dry ground turned to mud that squished between Cerberus's claws as he dug them deep into the earth.

The rain buffeted his hearing, but he could still somehow sense when one of the wolves would attempt an attack. Every time a wolf had charged to attack Cerberus, they failed and were swiped away by Cerberus's mighty paws.

"Can you defend yourself when all of us attack you at once?" one of the wolves said with a snarl.

"Go ahead." Cerberus flashed the wolf a deceiving grin.

The wolves all followed in sync with their attack on Cerberus, each wolf latching on to a part of Cerberus.

Cerberus only laughed as his blood was split on the muddy earth and was washed away by the pouring rain. He clamped his jaws on the back of a wolf that was gnawing at his foreleg and threw it at a nearby tree, knocking it unconscious.

"Can-do!" a wolf yelled through it's muffled voice from grabbing the back of Cerberus's neck.

Cerberus used his free leg to reach over his should to grab the wolf clamped down on his neck with his own claws. Once he had latched his claws into the skin of the wolf, he threw it over himself and watched the wolf land in a puddle of muddy water.

Cerberus then kicked off three other wolves and twirled the others off of him, ripping his own flesh in the process.

One of the wolves spit out a piece of Cerberus from its mouth. "He won't go down!"

While all of the wolves were panting from exhaustion, Cerberus hadn't even began to tire.

"I thought you all would be a challenge, I was wrong." Cerberus ran at a wolf.

The wolf was surprised and caught off guard seeing the hulking shadowlike wolf charge for him. It closed its eyes and braced for death, but it never came. Instead, he felt many piercing stings on his back and then the feeling of being lifted and finally thrown into another wolf. The two wolves whimpered in pain and lay in the mud.

"Four to go." Cerberus intimidated the wolves by furling up his bloodied fur to show off his hulking body.

The four wolves cowered and took a few steps back, but one built up enough courage or stupidity to charge at Cerberus, only to be hit away by a powerful blow from Cerberus's paw.

"This is too easy." Cerberus said with a hint of joyful glee. He wasn't going to kill all the wolves just yet, he wanted them to suffer; he wanted to see pain in their eyes to keep his sadistic mind at ease.

"Go for the throat this time." one of the three wolves whispered.

The three remaining wolves charged for Cerberus, directly for his vulnerable throat. One wolf was batted away while another wolf missed and latched on to Cerberus's rear leg. The final wolf had made its mark and tore its teeth into Cerberus's throat.

Cerberus growled angrily and kicked off the wolf that had its jaws clamped on his rear leg; it hit its head on a small rock. He then shook his body to rid himself of the wolf that held itself to his neck and ended up ripping a good portion of his throat.

Injured wolves lay strewn amongst the ground upon which Cerberus stood. His wounds didn't even seem to affect him.

"Cerberus!" he heard a voice yell to him. He recognized the voice and he growled at the thought of seeing the being behind it.

He watched as five wolves appeared through the dense black rain. The four traitors and the female wolf he had wanted to kill ever since he made it to Jasper.

"You'll loose Cerberus." the black and white wolf inquired.

"Give up now." said the black and grey wolf.

"Oh, but it will be you who shall loose after I kill you." Cerberus spat and growled.

He turned his attention to the two black furred wolves.

"I would expect treachery from the likes of these two, but you, Fenrir?" Cerberus asked.

"Your ways are wrong, Cerberus." Fenrir said in a lowered voice.

"Don't base your perspective on morals, Fenrir!" Cerberus shot back.

"And you, Skoll? Are you happy with your decision?" Cerberus asked, his red eyes fading.

"Yes." Skoll answered, he felt Cerberus deserved nothing more.

Cerberus's eyes began to brighten with anger and he hunkered down and readied his body to strike.

"Then you will all die!"


	35. Chapter 35 Deathly Causes

Ios, Barghest, and Fenrir semi-circled Cerberus and were ready to chase if Cerberus had any ideas of escaping, even though they had doubts that escape was on his mind.

"We all know your moves, Cerberus." Ios said boldly.

"You won't live to see morning." Fenrir growled.

"I'll enjoy watching you die." Barghest snarled.

Skoll and Grace stood idly behind their friends and observed Cerberus from afar as they intently analyzed his every move.

"You can't win." Barghest said.

A wolf stepped out of the shadows and to Cerberus' side; standing as if he was almost proud to call Cerberus his own father. The wolf was Hati.

"Please don't do this, Hati." Fenrir pleaded to his son. Cerberus sneered as he saw Fenrir's distress. Cerberus had a tool to use against Fenrir because he knew that Fenrir was the only wolf who could match his size and strength with experience to match. As long as Hati was by his side, Fenrir wouldn't do much harm.

"No, _father_." Hati said in a quivering voice. Cerberus took a few steps back. Hati found himself scared and alone, like Cerberus left him to fend for himself. He was fighting for Cerberus' cause, but it began to seem pointless; like he was a pawn and nothing more.

"Hati, you'll die if you fight for Cerberus!" Skoll took a step forward as he yelled to his brother. The move angered Cerberus but he felt he could reason with Skoll while using Hati as a shield.

"You don't belong with them, Skoll," Cerberus began, "You've killed many like them, and you never cared about those you've killed. Why care for those you could have killed?"

"Because I believe I can change." Skoll took another step forward.

Tension grew between all of the wolves as they thought out their plans of attack and wondered who would strike first.

Before any of them could begin tearing at each other's throats, a dark figure walked up behind Cerberus. Ios cocked his head in curiosity at the figure along with his friends.

Cerberus felt a wave of fear cross his mind along with a cold chill that crawled its way through his body. He said to himself that he was afraid nothing, even death, but the fear persisted as well did the feeling that something was behind him. Cerberus turned around but as he did so, his eyes met with a pair of glowing white orbs. He gasped and backed away a few paces.

"My little trouble maker." a seductive feminine voice said coming from the dark figure; it was much larger than Cerberus and almost towered over him, but it was far more slender and sleek.

Cerberus gulped and opened his mouth to ask a question, but he couldn't muster the courage. The figure came closer and revealed itself as a wolf with fur darker than Cerberus' with luminescent cold white eyes that seemed to stare straight through everything. As the wolf walked around Cerberus, a dark shadowy fog seemed to melt away from its body, leaving a trail of a fading black mist that seemed to envelope Cerberus.

"Let's take care of those little cuts those mean wolves caused." the wolf said.

Ios watched in astonishment and anger as Cerberus's wounds faded away. "What is your business here?" Ios asked with a rather stern tone of voice that said to everyone that he either didn't know the severity of the situation or that he was just that courageous.

Ios barely had time to blink before the dark wolf was standing before him. He trembled as the wolf's muzzle came close to his face. "Stay your tongue before it becomes misplaced." the wolf said plainly. It was obvious that the wolf was female, but just being in the presence of the wolf made everyone around her feel like an Omega due her to her demanding dominance.

A sudden and bright light illuminated the surroundings and sent the dark wolf to flee behind Cerberus with a hissing snarl.

**xxxXXXxxx**

Kate, with Humphrey in company, had found her father along with her mother and many other wolves near the mouth of the main den where all the wolf pups and some Omegas had been placed for protection from being attacked; she also saw an injured Hutch in the company of Kelsa who was watching over him. After finding her parents, she told Humphrey to go help any of the other wolves who needed it while she went to find her sister.

"Help!" Kate heard a scream. She looked around amidst the rain and saw her sister cornered by the same small wolf who had attacked Humphrey. She wasn't going to let him go this time.

"Hold on, Lilly!" Kate moved passed a large group of wolves who were being ambushed by a rather large wolf who seemed as though he weighed more than many wolves combined. With the wolf's massive size, he didn't even flinch when one of her fellow pack members bit into his hide.

After passing through, she came across two wolves attacking her fellow pack members; she couldn't distinguish the two wolves because they had the same features as the other. She ignored the fact that Garth was the one leading the attack against the three wolves who seemed to appear to attack, and suddenly disappear only to attack again.

"_They'd throw their lives away because they're afraid of their leader?"_ Kate thought to herself. She could understand why the enemy would wish to face such odds against them.

"Nowhere to run," Argos laughed, "You'll be good fun."

Lilly cowered, trapped between a hard stone surface and a seemingly indomitable wolf that came closer as she frantically tried to find a way out but to no avail. Her attention went from the threatening gaze of the wolf in front of her, to her sister who was looming behind the wolf. Argos noticed Lilly's eyes; they seemed to look through him as if something were behind him.

"Leave her alone." Kate said. Her voice trembled with hatred and the coldness of the rain.

Argos looked behind him and saw the same wolf who gave him the injuries he has now.

"Kate!" Lilly exclaimed. She started to run passed Argos in an attempt to get away from him, but Argos turned around in the nick-of-time to head-butt Lilly's stomach.

Kate watched her sister get slammed onto the ground; she could see her sister's head hitting a small rock. Kate's heart sank; that was enough. It wasn't revenge that fueled her, it was hate and irritation. Cerberus and his pack had hurt her family and friends time and time again and she was tired of it. She wanted them to leave those she loved alone, but the only way for that to happen would be to kill every last one of them. Kate growled and furled her lips to reveal a set of sharp frightening teeth. Argos mimicked her but backed away as she moved closer.

Argos paused as two wolves came to Kate's aid. He was outnumbered and outmatched.

"No, he's mine." Kate said to them. The wolves backed away but stayed close by.

Argos and Kate were roughly the same size but Argos was slightly taller. It didn't intimidate Kate though; she wanted nothing more than to get rid of him in the easiest way possible but also the most painful for him.

"I keep running into you tonight," Argos sneered, "It must be coincidence."

Kate paid no attention to Argos's comment, she only growled more. She noticed the wolf was backing away from her; he'd be an easy kill if she could time her attack for the right moment.

"Kate's your name, right?" Argos asked, keeping his defending stance while cautiously eying Kate's slow movements. Kate snarled and snapped at him, evoking a startled reaction from Argos. Kate thought it out in her head; she'd wait for Argos to turn his head slightly for her to get at his neck.

"_I should have killed him when I had the chance._" Kate thought.

A lightning flash struck off to the side in a close proximity to the valley. It caught Argos's interest more so that he turned his head to glimpse.

Kate saw it as the moment for her to strike and bring an end to her opponent's life.

**xxxXXXxxx**

Ios unshielded his eyes and laid his eyes upon a glowing pure-white wolf with a muscled build.. The wolf had black eyes that seemed to match the surrounding darkness almost as if the wolf had no eyes; only dark holes that seemed to go on and on into a deeper darkness.

However, the presence of the wolf somehow gave Ios a sort of heightened hope and made him feel like he was sure of himself; like he was ready to face the world and not care about what would happen to himself.

"Zion!" the dark ghostly female wolf hissed as she made her way out from behind Cerberus.

"Zyra." the glowing white wolf said.

"Wait a minute, I know that voice." Grace said out loud.

A smirk seemed to appear on the white wolf's muzzle, but it quickly disappeared.

Ios caught on to what Grace was referring to. The voice of the white wolf sounded exactly like the voice they had heard speaking to them earlier when they were alone in the den.

"Is it really you?" Ios asked. The white wolf nodded.

"You know the wolf?" Barghest asked his brother.

"He's spoken to me and Grace before, but we've never seen him." Ios replied to Barghest.

"So, Zion, I see you've chosen some new pets." The female wolf huffed. She moved closer towards Zion aggressively.

"Easy Zyra, you have less power than I." Zion warned with a raised brow.

"Not when there's enough death around." Zyra retorted as she snapped her jaws.

"What's going on?" Grace asked. The question was on everyone's mind and they were all confused as Grace was.

"This rain is making everything so wet." Zyra complained. She then began to howl, and as she did so, the clouds overhead began to depart as well as the rain. Along with the rain leaving, a semi-circle of ghostly black wolves appeared behind Zyra.

Zion also howled and, the same as Zyra, a semicircle of smaller white wolves similar to Zion appeared.

After Zion finished howling, he turned to Grace and said, "A war."

**xxxXXXxxx**

"I have to help them." Hutch said in almost complete darkness. His eyes were able to see clearly through the dark though.

"No, you're too hurt." Kelsa put a paw on his back and prohibited him from getting up.

"I'm fine. My legs are just a little scratched up." said Hutch. Kelsa looked down at his front legs which were still bleeding from some of the deeper injuries. Kelsa shook her head but smiled.

Being in a den while there was a fight around wasn't Hutch's idea of safety. He liked it more when he could defend himself and others. He wondered if Omegas usually felt this helpless when in danger.

A howl broke into the den, resonating loudly. The howl sounded as if it had come from a wolf in peril.

"I have to go out there." Hutch demanded.

"Hutch, you'll get hurt again, please don't go." Kelsa pleaded.

Hutch looked up at Kelsa, and then to all the other wolves around him. He felt like everyone's eyes were one him, like he was the only one who could protect them.

"It's only a few wolves, we outnumber them." Hutch said, getting to his feet despite the pain he felt in his forelegs.

"Hutch, wait." Kelsa started after him, but he stopped and looked back at her. "I'll be fine, Kelsa." he said with a smile.

Kelsa watched Hutch walk out of the cave. She could tell he wanted to protect everyone in the pack, but she feared he didn't care if it killed him in the process. She wasn't going to let him get hurt again, so she followed him outside.

She didn't realize that when she stepped out, Hutch had already began running to help a group of wolves attack a large wolf who seemed to be able to handle more than the group currently attacking him. With the group's experience in fighting, they were getting nowhere.

Hutch was trained in some fighting techniques when he went to Alpha school with Kate and Can-do.

Luckily, and to Hutch's surprise, Can-do was making his way towards the fighting.

"Hutch, shouldn't you be in the den with the others; your injuries…" Can-do said as he sided up to Hutch.

"I will after this wolf is dealt with. If you can distract him-"

"Whoa, whoa. Hutch, you know if you get hurt badly again…" Can-do looked to his friend.

"That won't happen." Hutch said.

"Alright, I'll be the distraction." Can-do said. Hutch nodded and signaled he was ready.

Can-do ran in between the wolves circling the attacking wolf and charged for one of its legs. Once he got a grip, he clamped his jaws as hard as he could to get the wolf's attention. He succeeded and Hutch was able get beside the wolf to jump on it and close his jaws on the back of its neck.

The wolf howled both in pain and anger and fell to the ground while Hutch gnawed at its neck. The group of wolves around the wolf began to frenzy and pile over the wolf to finish it off.

Kelsa watched the gruesome scene up until she could look no more. When it was over, the wolves all dispersed to patrol the valley with the other Alphas to hunt down the other two wolves that were attacking the pack.

"How can you fight with those injuries?" Can-do asked Hutch.

Hutch had almost completely forgotten that he was wounded. With Can-do bringing it up, the pain came back to him.

"I'm feeling it now." Hutch winced.

Kelsa came running up to him. "Let's get back to the den."

"But the others might need my help." Hutch refused Kelsa.

"You got the big one out of the way. There's only two left that we know of, and they'll be easy to take down." Can-do said.

"Not helping." Hutch said in a hushed voice to Can-do.

"See?" Kelsa said. "The other Alphas can handle it from here. "

"Okay, Kelsa." Hutch found it cute how Kelsa worried for his safety. He wanted to help his fellow pack members, but he knew they'd be able to fend for themselves now that the biggest problem was taken care of. However, Hutch couldn't get the feeling that something bad was going to happen…

**xxxXXXxxx**

"Lilly," Kate began as she looked down at her sister, "Are you alright?"

Lilly tried to get up, but felt a sharp pain in her stomach and head. She fell, but the pain subsided when she attempted to get up again.

"Let's get back to mom and dad." Kate said to her sister.

"Okay." Lilly responded with a pain filled voice but did her best to hide it.

As Kate and her sister walked away, she turned her head around to look behind her at the wolf she had killed; the first time she had ever killed another wolf. It didn't feel good to her on the inside, but she knew she had to do it to save others whom the wolf could have hurt or killed.

She turned her head away, slightly disgusted by her own actions and their consequences. Kate was glad that her sister was safe, but she wanted to be sure everyone else was too.

Kate told Lilly not to look as they passed by the body of the dead wolf, his large body littered with long lacerations and punctures. The pack Alphas were all out in twos patrolling the nearby area for the other two wolves.

Kate could feel worry for her friends Ios and Grace, but there were more important matters to attend to. She wasn't about to abandon her pack to go and find them, it wasn't right to her, or her family.

"I wish it would stop raining, I can't see anything." Lilly said as she flicked wet hair out of her face.

As if on cue, the rain suddenly stopped. The sun wouldn't rise for another hour or two, but the fact that the rain had stopped greatly increased their chances of finding the two remaining wolves that they were after.

Kate and Lilly had finally made it to their parent's den and found Eve and Winston still guarding with a few other Alphas along with Tony

"Where's Garth?" Lilly asked. The expression on her face showed she was worried not for herself, but for Garth.

"He's out leading the Alphas." Winston answered.

"Has Humphrey been around here?" Kate asked.

"We haven't seen him, dear." Eve answered. Kate sat down at the opening of the den and looked out to see if she could find anyone around.

"Looking for me?" Humphrey asked with his friends Shakey, Salty, and Mooch behind him.

Kate started to run towards Humphrey, but was caught off guard as black ghostly wolves appeared out of nowhere.

At around the same time, ghostly white wolves appeared amongst the darker wolves.

Kate told Humphrey to run into the den for protection, but he told his friends to hide while he stayed outside with her.

"I'm not leaving you alone." Humphrey said.

"I don't know what's going on, but we have to find a way to get to Garth or we won't last long against what ever those things are." Kate said, unsure of everything happening around her. Black and white ghostly wolves all fighting each other and she didn't know why.

"No one will make it through all of those things and get to Garth alive." Salty gave his input.

"We have to try, don't we?" Humphrey asked as he turned to Kate.

Kate looked at all of the ghostly wolves scattered across the territory, all fighting.

"We have to try," said Kate as she looked into the chaos, "Let's go."


	36. Chapter 36 Diplomatic Peril

Zyra, the wickedly black colored great wolf sneered with a snarl. Ios looked to Grace and Barghest, taking his mind from the feeling of helplessness that the dark great wolf's presence gave him. However, it was in vain as he saw fear in his companion's faces.

The black great wolf, Zyra began to meld to the shadows around her; disappearing from view in a vile black haze that also quickly disappeared, leaving behind Cerberus, Hati, and the many dark wolves she had spawned. But Zyra's exodus didn't come without the great wolf leaving behind a nefarious remark.

"_You will all die."_ a whisper in the form of Zyra's voice said slowly out of the air. It sent a chill up and down the spines of all who heard, other than the white great wolf, Zion, who seemed used to Zyra's threats.

"What… What just happened?" Barghest broke through the silence that came soon after Zyra's departure. Everyone, Fenrir, Skoll, Ios, Grace, even Barghest, looked to Zion for answers. An answer never came to Barghest's question.

"Well," Grace said. "I think she left." Barghest gave her a look that said "well no duh." The specter white wolves of Zion continued to hold off the phantom-like dark wolves of Zyra by growling lowly and swiping claws at muzzles.

"Why is that wolf even here?"Ios asked. "What does she want from us?"He was directing his questions towards the white great wolf. Zion's gaze turned to Ios, causing him to go numb as he looked directly into the eyes of the great wolf. Zion's eyes were indeed holes in his head, but Ios could see something else in the wolf's eyes, something he couldn't come to explain to himself. Grace noticed what was happening before the others did and walked up to Ios and spoke his name with no reaction out of him. She placed a paw on his shoulder and pushed slightly with the same non-reaction. Grace then looked to the white great wolf.

"Are you doing this to him?" she asked. Zion responded with a blink. Moments later, Ios moved and shook his head.

"She thrives on dealing death and devastating the lives of others." Ios said quickly. Grace looked at him confused and so did the other three wolves. Ios rolled his eyes as if they should have already known.

"That's why Zyra is here." he said. The others still looked perplexed.

"When _she_ kills, she gets stronger. She did something to Cerberus long ago, made him angry, and has been using him to kill so she can gain more power due to her not being able to harm anything." Ios explained.

"As much as you think you're making sense, that still doesn't explain why _he's_ here." said Grace.

"He's here to stop her. If she gains anymore power, she can corrupt not only Jasper Park, but everything else beyond it." Ios continued. His companions looked at him and started to partially get what he was saying.

"By corrupt I mean destroy." Ios finished.

"So… how do we stop this Zyra?" Fenrir asked. Ios looked at his friend and was about to answer before Zion's voice broke in.

"By instilling doubt in Cerberus about his cause." Zion said.

"Killing him would be easier." Barghest interjected.

"Zyra would want us to try, but I'm sure she wouldn't let that happen." Ios informed his brother.

"What about my son?" Fenrir asked as he walked up into the middle of the conversation.

"As long as he stays out of Cerberus' way, then he should be okay after all of this." Ios retorted.

"So all we have to do is get Cerberus to think that Zyra is bad and then…?" Barghest started to ask.

"I'll take care of the rest." Zion said.

"Uh, that might be hard to do with him running away." Skoll said out loud. Ios cursed to himself as he watched Cerberus and Hati run away. Before any of the other wolves could notice, Zion left without a trace.

"Okay… so let's go." Barghest said, standing behind the line of white wolves.

"Zyra might not be able to hurt us, but those things of hers can if they get the chance." Ios said, making his way up to his brother.

"What happened with Zion back there, Ios?" Grace sided up to Ios.

"Well, he told me everything. I thought all of you heard what he said?"

"No, we didn't." Grace replied shaking her head. Ios grew bemused. He began to mull over what he had just been told by Zion. The conversation he had with him felt like it lasted hours, but he couldn't remember anything else other than the words Zion had said and the questions he had asked. He did remember how his friends hadn't said a word during his discussion, which was weird…

"You and Zion had some sort of staring contest or something." said Skoll.

"That's weird…" Ios said. Before he could continue to ponder, his brother got everyone's attention.

"Cerberus is running away and we're here doing…?" Barghest waved his paw in emphasis. Just then, the ghostly white wolves began to pounce on the unprepared phantom black wolves. The black wolves were also slightly outnumbered by the white wolves, easily being torn apart and being wisped away into the shadows. The white wolves then ran away, leaving Ios and company alone to themselves.

"We should go now." Grace supposed.

"Let's track him down." Barghest said, prompting everyone else to head off in the direction that Cerberus went.

**xxxXXXxxx**

"There he is!" Kate screamed with Humphrey in tow along with a few other wolves who intended to help get through the onslaught of swiping claws. Garth and his small group of wolves were surrounded and holding off a mass of the phantom black wolves, but were slowly losing ground. Garth, being the most capable fighter in the entire pack, was dealing as much punishment as he could. As for the rest of his group, it didn't look to well. There were a few dead wolves laying around the fighting. Kate stopped before getting into the fighting, assessing what she could do to help Garth.

She spotted a wolf of her pack lying on the ground with the lower half of its body missing. She winced at the gruesome sight, but gasped as she saw the wolf start moving. It was barely able to lift its head as it crawled along the damp ground with its forepaws, whining and whimpering out of pain. The wolf was able to crawl far enough that its entrails began to fall out and drag behind the poor creature and streaking a trail of crimson along the grass; only moments after, a few of the phantom wolves saw the dying wolf attempting to get away and mauled the rest of the life out of it.

"_At least they have the decency to put a wolf out of their misery…_" Kate thought solemnly. She turned around and told the wolves following her that she intended to charge in and surprise the phantom wolves and get Garth and the rest away and back to her parents' den, the safe place.

"I want you to stay here, Humphrey. Just in case." Kate said. She was answered with a frown of rejection.

"I'm sticking to you no matter what." Humphrey asserted, intending to hammer it into her head if he needed to. Kate sighed frustratingly.

"I can take care of myself." Humphrey added. Kate looked up and rolled her eyes.

"Fine. But stay close to me." she said. She then turned and ran towards Garth. The wolves with her followed her as she spearheaded through the phantom wolves to meet up with the surrounded wolves.

"Garth! Come on, get out of here!" Kate yelled, batting back a snarling phantom wolf's fangs. Garth looked around to see notice the familiar golden colored wolf.

"Kate?" he asked. Kate felt like rolling her eyes. Garth turned back around to slice his claws through the neck of a phantom wolf.

"Yeah, it's me," she said. "Now let's go!" Kate's plan had worked. With the phantom wolves caught off guard, they could do nothing to stop her and Garth from pushing out of the circle of black wolves to run back towards the pack.

After being chased by the phantoms, Garth and Kate decided to lose their pursuers in the wooded areas. The trick worked and Kate and the now medium-sized group of wolves were able to walk and rest.

"What happened?" Kate asked Garth as she and the other wolves weaved through trees towards home.

"Well, we were out looking for the wolves who attacked us when those things came out of nowhere and started attacking. I was able to get most of everyone to group up and fight back, but there were too many of those things, and more kept showing up." Garth said.

"All of this stuff is just weird." Humphrey said as he walked beside Kate.

"Yeah, it is," Kate said. "Those things, there're two kinds."

"The white ones and the black ones?" Garth asked. Kate looked at him and nodded. They walked in silence until Garth raised a question.

"How's Lilly doing?" Garth asked. Kate recollected on the wolf that had attacked her sister.

"A wolf attacked her, but she's okay. I made sure of that." Kate said.

"I need to get to her as soon as possibl-" Garth was cut short by a noise. A choking sound came from behind them along with a yell. Kate, Garth, and Humphrey looked around to see the commotion and found that the neck of one of the wolves following them had been slashed open. All the wolves were put on alert and began looking around in the darkness for any sign of an attacker.

Kate looked to Humphrey and Garth.

"This isn't good…"

**xxxXXXxxx**

"He's this way, come on!" Ios shouted out to the pack of wolves behind him. He and his friends were in hot pursuit of Cerberus and Hati who were actually difficult to both track and give chase.

"They can't get away with all of us stalking them." Skoll said in between strides. From the intense speed at which Ios was going at, he couldn't tell where he was. For all he and his friends knew, they could be out of Jasper Park and heading to nowhere, or, perhaps into a trap. Cerberus wouldn't be clever enough for that though. Hati was though, and if Hati had any intention of serving Cerberus and harming his father, there might be a trap lying in wait for Ios and his small pack of friends.

As the group started up a slightly steep incline after Cerberus, Ios noticed that Hati and his _master_ had stopped at the top, looking back at him. His eyes widened as he saw the large trunk of a wide and very long three precariously placed on the edge of the supposed hill Ios and his pack were running up. With a push from the collaboration of Cerberus and Hati's efforts, it began to roll down the incline.

"Split up!" Ios ordered. Skoll and Grace went on direction while Ios, Fenrir and Barghest went another to get out of the tumbling tree trunk's way. Ios didn't see the tree hit a large stone jutting out that sent it careening straight for him. He knocked his brother and Fenrir away and, with all his dexterity, jumped as high as he could. If it wasn't for the large broken branch dangling from the tree that whipped Ios's chest, he would have landed on all fours. He was sent crashing to the ground hard on his side. He was quickly able to get up and continue to close the distance between himself and Cerberus.

As the group reached the crest of the hill, Cerberus and Hati were there waiting for them to their surprise.

"End of the road, Cerberus." Barghest gritted. Cerberus only laughed.

"You think you've won?" he asked.

"Clearly." Bargest replied.

"We haven't really lost." Skoll added.

"You know you don't have to fight, Cerberus." Ios said, trying his paw at diplomacy.

"I'll savor running my claws through your neck, deserter!" Cerberus barked. Ios and his pack drew themselves closer to Cerberus. Hati stayed behind Cerberus planning for him to take the first blow then run off.

"You're outnumbered again, Cerberus. You'll die if you fight us." Fenrir said.

"I'll let you own flesh and blood take care of you." Cerberus threatened with a snap of his jaws.

As if on cue, a small group of phantom wolves appeared around Cerberus, not only evening out the odds between the two groups, but turning the odds in Cerberus' favor with the new arrivals. Cerberus glared at Ios with death in his eye.

"Time to pay for your treachery, Ios."


	37. Chapter 37 Hunted

"Over there," Humphrey shouted. "I saw something!" The shadows hidden between the trees moved all around. Kate couldn't tell if the shadows were the phantom wolves who had finally found her and her group or if there was some other bizarre creatures that appeared out of nowhere.

A wolf who lagged behind the group screamed in pain as she disappeared off into the shadows by… something. Kate panicked, as did Garth and the rest of the group.

"We've got to move. Let's go!" Garth ordered. One of the wolves in the group protested.

"What about-" The wolf was interrupted by screams and cries of agony that were similar to the screams of the wolf who had just been taken. The wolf slunk back and cringed, but the crying died off quickly. There wasn't much they could do in terms of rescue. There could be more attackers lying in wait.

"This is crazy…" one wolf said. The other wolves started to look around wildly, afraid that they'd be struck next. The slightest noise called the attention from the entire group, sparking more paranoia and worry. Garth and Kate went over a plan to take down their hunters, knowing that splitting up would be the worst option. Their best bet was to wait for a slip up or defend themselves until daylight.

"Keep your eyes sharp," Kate said to the group. "If you spot anything, don't keep it to yourself."

The band of wolves scrutinized their surroundings for the slightest movement and listened around for any odd sounds. After enough time had passed for Garth to get impatient, he suggested another plan.

"I'm going to be the bait," Kate furrowed her brow in frightened surprise. "And if it attacks, you and the others come in." he finished. Kate shook her head.

"You'll get yourself hurt." she stammered. Losing a pack leader meant disarray and the possible end of the entire pack. She didn't want that.

"Or killed," Humphrey said quickly. Garth glared at him. "Or whichever one works for you." Humphrey added with smile, obviously joking. His manner wasn't appreciated. Garth turned his attention back to Kate.

"I'm doing it." he said. Kate wanted to smash his stubborn head against the tree beside him.

"I'll be fine." Garth said as he looked around before splintering away from the pack. He cautiously walked far enough away to be an easy target, but also close enough to his pack to be assisted by them if he got into trouble.

He waited for a short while before he started taking steps further away from his pack until he felt he was too far away. Still, nothing had happened. He decided to draw some attention by yelling over to his pack.

"I'm going to go get help!" he shouted. He felt that should be enough for his attackers to go for him. He was correct in his decision as he heard the sound of leaves scuffling from a snapping twig. He looked to his right, hearing low growling from behind a tree. He felt it was his turn to be aggressive and attacked.

"Garth!" Kate yelled. She bolted in his direction with Humphrey and the rest of the wolves close behind her. Garth slashed and clawed at the black furred wolf that was mauling him. He noted that it wasn't like the phantom wolves he had fought before. This wolf was flesh and blood.

Kate jumped onto the black coated wolf attacking him. The wolf turned its attention to her and started to claw at her, slashing her left shoulder and leaving deep gashes. Humphrey stepped in and did the only thing he could do; go for the throat. He charged quickly with flashing jaws and clamped down tightly on the side of the wolf's neck.

Humphrey's actions stunned the attacking wolf long enough for the other wolves in the group to surround it and take it down in a growing pool of dark crimson that seeped into the dirt, making it clumpy and unsettling to walk through. After calming down, the pack was ordered to patrol the area for more threats to leave Kate, Humphrey and Garth back with the corpse.

"This wolf seems familiar..." Kate said in thought as she looked at the dead wolf. She stopped to lick the wound on her shoulder.

"I think it's one from that Cerberus wolf's pack." Humphrey said. He noticed Kate's wounds and looked worriedly to her. She shrugged his non-said concern off with a wince. Humphrey wasn't convinced.

"Wasn't there another one that looked exactly like this one?" Kate asked.

"I don't remember." Humphrey replied.

"If there is, we should really start moving." Garth ordered, not seeing the wolf crouched low behind him. The black hided wolf pounced, overshooting Garth completely with the evident intent to get at Humphrey, flared claws and all poised to kill.

"You're dead!" it roared.

Kate's reaction to seeing the wolf landed her in front of Humphrey with her own teeth ready to pierce flesh. She wasn't going to let the wolf's words turn into reality.

* * *

**Thanks for reading.**


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